auftragenvsaustragenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#28,529
“auftragen” frequency rank
#21,172
“austragen” frequency rank
49701
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature auftragen austragen
Definition Speisen auf dem Tisch servieren; ein Thema ansprechen etwas verschiedenen Empfängern zubringen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set auftragen and austragen apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
auftragen
9 ch
austragen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. auftragen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁaːɡn̩]) and austragen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaːɡn̩]) 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 a single letter - f in “auftragen” becomes s in “austragen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49701, 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]. austragen is at rank #21,172, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaːɡn̩].

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 49701, this pair ranks #1,201,540 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of auftragen vs austragen

Shared letters: aegnrtu. Private to "auftragen": f. Private to "austragen": s.

"auftragen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCCVCVC  ·  "austragen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • auftragenafutragen · aufftragen · aufrtagen · auftargen · auftraegn · auftragenn · auftraggen · auftragne
  • austragenasutragen · ausrtagen · ausstragen · austargen · austraegn · austragenn · austraggen · austragne

Frequency comparison

auftragen#28,529
austragen#21,172

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "auftragen" and "austragen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁaːɡn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "auftragen" or "austragen"?
"austragen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,172 in our German list, against #28,529 for "auftragen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering auftragen vs austragen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “auftragen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list