abschlagenvsausschlagenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#47,916
“abschlagen” frequency rank
#41,047
“ausschlagen” frequency rank
88963
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abschlagen ausschlagen
Definition etwas mit Gewalt abtrennen Hilfsverb haben

Where the eye mixes abschlagen and ausschlagen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. abschlagen runs 10 letters (VCCCCCVCVC) against ausschlagen's 11 (VVCCCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
abschlagen
11 ch
ausschlagen

Visual trap between abschlagen and ausschlagen

A purely visual mix-up. abschlagen ([ˈapˌʃlaːɡn̩]) and ausschlagen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʃlaːɡn̩]) 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 88963, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abschlagen is recorded at frequency rank #47,916, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃlaːɡn̩]. ausschlagen is at rank #41,047, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʃlaːɡn̩].

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 88963, this pair ranks #62,461 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abschlagen vs ausschlagen

Shared letters: aceghlns. Private to "abschlagen": b. Private to "ausschlagen": u.

"abschlagen" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCCVCVC  ·  "ausschlagen" · 11 letters · shape VVCCCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abschlagen ← abbschlagen · abcshlagen · abscchlagen · abschalgen · abschhlagen · abschlaegn · abschlagenn · abschlaggen
  • ausschlagen ← asuschlagen · auschlagen · auscshlagen · ausscchlagen · ausschalgen · ausschhlagen · ausschlaegn · ausschlagenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abschlagen" and "ausschlagen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌʃlaːɡn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌʃlaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abschlagen" vs "ausschlagen" - which ranks higher?
"ausschlagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #41,047 in our German list, against #47,916 for "abschlagen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "abschlagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ausschlagen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #62,461 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abschlagen" and "ausschlagen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abschlag vs abschlagen". 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 #62,461 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