AuftragvsAufträgeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Auftrag” and “Aufträge” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,539
“Auftrag” frequency rank
#7,149
“Aufträge” frequency rank
8688
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Auftrag Aufträge
Definition mündliche oder schriftliche Aufforderungen einer Stelle oder einer Person an eine andere Stelle oder Person Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Auftrag

Where the eye mixes Auftrag and Aufträge

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Auftrag runs 7 letters (VVCCCVC) against Aufträge's 8 (VVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Auftrag
8 ch
Aufträge

Visual trap between Auftrag and Aufträge

A purely visual mix-up. Auftrag ([ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁaːk]) and Aufträge ([ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁɛːɡə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8688, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Auftrag is recorded at frequency rank #1,539, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁaːk]. Aufträge is at rank #7,149, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁɛːɡə].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 8688, this pair ranks #1,983,281 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Auftrag vs Aufträge

Shared letters: afgrtu. Private to "Auftrag": -. Private to "Aufträge": eä.

"Auftrag" · 7 letters · shape VVCCCVC  ·  "Aufträge" · 8 letters · shape VVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Auftrag ← afutrag · aufftrag · aufrtag · auftarg · auftragg · auftrga · auftrrag · aufttrag

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Auftrag" and "Aufträge" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁaːk] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁɛːɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Auftrag" or "Aufträge"?
"Auftrag" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,539 in our German list, against #7,149 for "Aufträge". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Auftrag" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Aufträge" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,983,281 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Auftrag" and "Aufträge" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Aufträge vs Auftrags". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,983,281 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list