auf

/[aʊ̯f]/ prep

Letters

3 characters

Frequency Rank

#15

in German word usage

Misspellings

0

tracked variants

Confusables

20

similar word pairs

auf is aGermanprep. It means: an der Oberseite von etwas Pronounced [aʊ̯f]. It ranks #15 in German word frequency. Often confused with AZ and AV.

Key facts for auf
PropertyValue
Headwordauf
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPrep
IPA[aʊ̯f]
Letters3
Frequency rank#15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of auf in German word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for auf is 3 letters long, classified as aprep, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [aʊ̯f]. Corpus data places it at rank #15 in overall German word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No frequent misspelling variants are recorded for auf in our index, suggesting the orthography either follows predictable German patterns or the word is uncommon enough that typo corpora lack signal.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "AZ", "AV", "AW", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is auf, spelled A-U-F, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    an der Oberseite von etwas
  2. 2
    an die Oberseite von etwas
  3. 3
    mit der bezeichneten Seite nach unten
  4. 4
    mit der bezeichneten Seite nach unten
  5. 5
    an der Oberfläche von etwas
  6. 6
    an die Oberfläche von etwas
  7. 7
    bei einer Unternehmung oder Veranstaltung
  8. 8
    zu einer Unternehmung oder Veranstaltung
  9. 9
    an einer Örtlichkeit, die einem zu Füßen liegt
  10. 10
    zu einer Örtlichkeit, die einem zu Füßen liegt
  11. 11
    in einer bestimmten Sprache
  12. 12
    bevorstehende festgelegte Zeitdauer

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Frequency rank: #15 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "auf"?
"auf" is spelled A-U-F. The IPA pronunciation is [aʊ̯f].
What does "auf" mean?
As a prep, "auf" means: an der Oberseite von etwas
What words are commonly confused with "auf"?
"auf" is commonly confused with "AZ", "AV", "AW". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "auf"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "auf" is [aʊ̯f]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "auf" come from?
"auf" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter A in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.