AbnutzungvsAusnutzungWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#33,942
“Abnutzung” frequency rank
#26,764
“Ausnutzung” frequency rank
60706
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abnutzung Ausnutzung
Definition kontinuierliche Beschädigung durch Benutzung Gebrauch oder Anwendung von etwas, sodass es dem Anwender Nutzen bringt

Where the eye mixes Abnutzung and Ausnutzung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

9 ch
Abnutzung
10 ch
Ausnutzung

Look-alike desk: Abnutzung vs Ausnutzung

A purely visual mix-up. Abnutzung ([ˈapnʊt͡sʊŋ]) and Ausnutzung ([ˈaʊ̯sˌnʊt͡sʊŋ]) 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 60706, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abnutzung is recorded at frequency rank #33,942, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapnʊt͡sʊŋ]. Ausnutzung is at rank #26,764, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌnʊt͡sʊŋ].

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 60706, this pair ranks #776,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Abnutzung vs Ausnutzung

Shared letters: agntuz. Private to "Abnutzung": b. Private to "Ausnutzung": s.

"Abnutzung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC  ·  "Ausnutzung" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abnutzungabbnutzung · abnnutzung · abntuzung · abnuttzung · abnutuzng · abnutznug · abnutzugn · abnutzungg
  • Ausnutzungasunutzung · aunsutzung · ausnnutzung · ausntuzung · ausnuttzung · ausnutuzng · ausnutznug · ausnutzugn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Abnutzung" for "Ausnutzung" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapnʊt͡sʊŋ] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌnʊt͡sʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Abnutzung" or "Ausnutzung"?
"Ausnutzung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,764 in our German list, against #33,942 for "Abnutzung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Abnutzung" and "Ausnutzung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Abnutzung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ausnutzung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #776,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Abnutzung" and "Ausnutzung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abnutzung vs Absetzung". 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 #776,981 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