aufhorchen

[ˈaʊ̯fˌhɔʁçn̩]

/[ˈaʊ̯fˌhɔʁçn̩]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“aufhorchen” is uncommon German (frequency #51,936 among 113,935 “A” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,936
frequency rank, German
113,935
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - (plötzlich) aufmerksam werden, weil man etwas bemerkt/gehört/begriffen hat

Key facts for aufhorchen
PropertyValue
Headwordaufhorchen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈaʊ̯fˌhɔʁçn̩]
Letters10
Frequency rank#51,936
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “aufhorchen” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). aufhorchen lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

aufhorchen is uncommon German at frequency #51,936 among 113,935 “A” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [ˈaʊ̯fˌhɔʁçn̩]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "(plötzlich) aufmerksam werden, weil man etwas bemerkt/gehört/begriffen hat".

aufhorchen doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is aufhorchen, spelled A-U-F-H-O-R-C-H-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    (plötzlich) aufmerksam werden, weil man etwas bemerkt/gehört/begriffen hat

Antonyms

ausblendenweghören

This word in other languages

dresser l'oreille(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "aufhorchen"?
"aufhorchen" is spelled A-U-F-H-O-R-C-H-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈaʊ̯fˌhɔʁçn̩].
What does "aufhorchen" mean?
As a verb, "aufhorchen" means: (plötzlich) aufmerksam werden, weil man etwas bemerkt/gehört/begriffen hat
How do you pronounce "aufhorchen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "aufhorchen" is [ˈaʊ̯fˌhɔʁçn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "aufhorchen" come from?
"aufhorchen" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Using “aufhorchen”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is A-U-F-H-O-R-C-H-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈaʊ̯fˌhɔʁçn̩] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Other uncommon German words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list