Which to use
“auftragen” and “auftreten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,529
- “auftragen” frequency rank
- #2,485
- “auftreten” frequency rank
- 31014
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | auftragen | auftreten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Speisen auf dem Tisch servieren; ein Thema ansprechen | in Erscheinung treten; sich (gelegentlich) ereignen |
Where the eye mixes auftragen and auftreten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. auftragen and auftreten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses auftragen with auftreten
A purely visual mix-up. auftragen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁaːɡn̩]) and auftreten ([ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁeːtn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31014, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
auftragen is recorded at frequency rank #28,529, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁaːɡn̩]. auftreten is at rank #2,485, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁeːtn̩].
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 31014, this pair ranks #1,736,502 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of auftragen vs auftreten
Shared letters: aefnrtu. Private to "auftragen": g. Private to "auftreten": -.
"auftragen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCCVCVC · "auftreten" · 9 letters · shape VVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "auftragen" for "auftreten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "auftragen" vs "auftreten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "auftragen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "auftreten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,736,502 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "auftragen" and "auftreten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abtragen vs auftragen". 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 #1,736,502 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.