abbrechenvsausbrechenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,405
“abbrechen” frequency rank
#19,496
“ausbrechen” frequency rank
29901
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abbrechen ausbrechen
Definition durch Krafteinwirkung einen Teil vom Ganzen trennen, teilen sich aus Mauern, Gittern, Gefängnis, Konventionen oder Ähnlichem befreien

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abbrechen and ausbrechen apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
abbrechen
10 ch
ausbrechen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abbrechen ([ˈapˌbʁɛçn̩]) and ausbrechen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌbʁɛçn̩]) 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 29901, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abbrechen is recorded at frequency rank #10,405, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌbʁɛçn̩]. ausbrechen is at rank #19,496, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌbʁɛçn̩].

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 29901, this pair ranks #1,758,117 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abbrechen vs ausbrechen

Shared letters: abcehnr. Private to "abbrechen": -. Private to "ausbrechen": su.

"abbrechen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "ausbrechen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abbrechenabberchen · abbrcehen · abbrecchen · abbrecehn · abbrechenn · abbrechhen · abbrechne · abbrehcen
  • ausbrechenasubrechen · aubsrechen · ausbbrechen · ausberchen · ausbrcehen · ausbrecchen · ausbrecehn · ausbrechenn

Frequency comparison

abbrechen#10,405
ausbrechen#19,496

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abbrechen" and "ausbrechen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌbʁɛçn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌbʁɛçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abbrechen" or "ausbrechen"?
"abbrechen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,405 in our German list, against #19,496 for "ausbrechen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abbrechen vs ausbrechen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “abbrechen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list