aufzählenvsaufzuholenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#29,013
“aufzählen” frequency rank
#43,727
“aufzuholen” frequency rank
72740
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufzählen aufzuholen
Definition jemandem etwas im Einzelnen und nacheinander nennen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs aufholen

Where the eye mixes aufzählen and aufzuholen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. aufzählen runs 9 letters (VVCCVCCVC) against aufzuholen's 10 (VVCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
aufzählen
10 ch
aufzuholen

Why the eye confuses aufzählen with aufzuholen

A purely visual mix-up. aufzählen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌt͡sɛːlən]) and aufzuholen ([ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌhoːlən]) 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 72740, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aufzählen is recorded at frequency rank #29,013, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌt͡sɛːlən]. aufzuholen is at rank #43,727, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌhoːlən].

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 72740, this pair ranks #379,784 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of aufzählen vs aufzuholen

Shared letters: aefhlnuz. Private to "aufzählen": ä. Private to "aufzuholen": o.

"aufzählen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC  ·  "aufzuholen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aufzuholen ← afuzuholen · auffzuholen · aufuzholen · aufzhuolen · aufzuhholen · aufzuhloen · aufzuhoeln · aufzuholenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "aufzählen" for "aufzuholen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fˌt͡sɛːlən] versus [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌhoːlən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aufzählen" or "aufzuholen"?
"aufzählen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,013 in our German list, against #43,727 for "aufzuholen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "aufzählen" and "aufzuholen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aufzählen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aufzuholen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #379,784 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aufzählen" and "aufzuholen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufholen vs aufzuholen". 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 #379,784 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