Which to use
“auf” is a preposition and “aux” is a contraction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,364
- “auf” frequency rank
- #32,511
- “aux” frequency rank
- 67875
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | auf | aux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Arriba de, sobre, en. | Contracción de la preposición à y el artículo les; a las ; a los. |
Where the eye mixes auf and aux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: auf vs aux
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: auf is [aʊ̯f] while aux is /o/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - f in “auf” becomes x in “aux”, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs contraction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67875, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
auf is recorded at frequency rank #35,364, classified as aprep, pronounced [aʊ̯f]. aux is at rank #32,511, tagged as acontraction, pronounced /o/.
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 67875, this pair ranks #35,982 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of auf vs aux
Shared letters: au. Private to "auf": f. Private to "aux": x.
"auf" · 3 letters · shape VVC · "aux" · 3 letters · shape VVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "auf" and "aux" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "auf" or "aux" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "auf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #35,982 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "auf" and "aux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "atl vs auf". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #35,982 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.