Which to use
“auftreiben” and “austreiben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,635
- “auftreiben” frequency rank
- #46,490
- “austreiben” frequency rank
- 82125
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | auftreiben | austreiben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nach Suche finden | Weidevieh auf die Weide treiben |
Where the eye mixes auftreiben and austreiben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. auftreiben and austreiben follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses auftreiben with austreiben
A purely visual mix-up. auftreiben ([ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]) and austreiben ([ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]) 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 “auftreiben” becomes s in “austreiben”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82125, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
auftreiben is recorded at frequency rank #35,635, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]. austreiben is at rank #46,490, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩].
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 82125, this pair ranks #162,891 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of auftreiben vs austreiben
Shared letters: abeinrtu. Private to "auftreiben": f. Private to "austreiben": s.
"auftreiben" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVVCVC · "austreiben" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- auftreiben ← afutreiben · aufftreiben · aufrteiben · aufteriben · auftrebien · auftreibben · auftreibenn · auftreibne
- austreiben ← asutreiben · ausrteiben · ausstreiben · austeriben · austrebien · austreibben · austreibenn · austreibne
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "auftreiben" and "austreiben" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "auftreiben" or "austreiben" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "auftreiben" and "austreiben" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "auftreiben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "austreiben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #162,891 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "auftreiben" and "austreiben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abtreiben vs austreiben". 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 #162,891 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.