Which to use
“abschalten” and “ausschalten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,980
- “abschalten” frequency rank
- #10,814
- “ausschalten” frequency rank
- 19794
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abschalten | ausschalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Gerät oder eine Anlage außer Betrieb setzen, stromlos machen | die Funktion eines Gerätes beenden, indem man die Stromzufuhr unterbricht |
Where the eye mixes abschalten and ausschalten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. abschalten runs 10 letters (VCCCCVCCVC) against ausschalten's 11 (VVCCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abschalten with ausschalten
A purely visual mix-up. abschalten ([ˈapˌʃaltn̩]) and ausschalten ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʃaltn̩]) 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 19794, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abschalten is recorded at frequency rank #8,980, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃaltn̩]. ausschalten is at rank #10,814, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʃaltn̩].
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 19794, this pair ranks #1,904,531 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abschalten vs ausschalten
Shared letters: acehlnst. Private to "abschalten": b. Private to "ausschalten": u.
"abschalten" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC · "ausschalten" · 11 letters · shape VVCCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abschalten ← abbschalten · abcshalten · abscahlten · abscchalten · abschaletn · abschallten · abschaltenn · abschaltne
- ausschalten ← asuschalten · auschalten · auscshalten · ausscahlten · ausscchalten · ausschaletn · ausschallten · ausschaltenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abschalten" and "ausschalten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "abschalten" or "ausschalten" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "abschalten" and "ausschalten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abschalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ausschalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,904,531 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abschalten" and "ausschalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausschalten vs ausschütten". 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 #1,904,531 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.