abgelesenvsausgelesenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#39,182
“abgelesen” frequency rank
#43,026
“ausgelesen” frequency rank
82208
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abgelesen ausgelesen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ablesen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs auslesen

Where the eye mixes abgelesen and ausgelesen

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

9 ch
abgelesen
10 ch
ausgelesen

Look-alike desk: abgelesen vs ausgelesen

A purely visual mix-up. abgelesen ([ˈapɡəˌleːzn̩]) and ausgelesen ([ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌleːzn̩]) 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 82208, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abgelesen is recorded at frequency rank #39,182, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌleːzn̩]. ausgelesen is at rank #43,026, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌleːzn̩].

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 82208, this pair ranks #161,417 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abgelesen vs ausgelesen

Shared letters: aeglns. Private to "abgelesen": b. Private to "ausgelesen": u.

"abgelesen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC  ·  "ausgelesen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abgelesen ← abbgelesen · abeglesen · abgeelsen · abgeleesn · abgelesenn · abgelesne · abgelessen · abgellesen
  • ausgelesen ← asugelesen · augselesen · auseglesen · ausgeelsen · ausgeleesn · ausgelesenn · ausgelesne · ausgelessen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abgelesen" for "ausgelesen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapɡəˌleːzn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌleːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abgelesen" vs "ausgelesen" - which ranks higher?
"abgelesen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,182 in our German list, against #43,026 for "ausgelesen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abgelesen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ausgelesen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #161,417 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abgelesen" and "ausgelesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgelegen vs abgelesen". 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 #161,417 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