AbschnittvsAusschnittWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,575
“Abschnitt” frequency rank
#8,172
“Ausschnitt” frequency rank
10747
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abschnitt Ausschnitt
Definition das Abgeschnittene, Abgetrennte aus einem Text, Bild, Film oder Tondokument tatsächlich (zum Beispiel: Zeitung, Foto, Film, Tonband) oder im übertragenen Sinne (Textdatei, Digitalfoto, Video, mp3-Datei) ausgeschnittener Teil

Where the eye mixes Abschnitt and Ausschnitt

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

9 ch
Abschnitt
10 ch
Ausschnitt

Look-alike desk: Abschnitt vs Ausschnitt

A purely visual mix-up. Abschnitt ([ˈapˌʃnɪt]) and Ausschnitt ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʃnɪt]) 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 10747, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abschnitt is recorded at frequency rank #2,575, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌʃnɪt]. Ausschnitt is at rank #8,172, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʃnɪt].

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 10747, this pair ranks #1,973,535 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Abschnitt vs Ausschnitt

Shared letters: achinst. Private to "Abschnitt": b. Private to "Ausschnitt": u.

"Abschnitt" · 9 letters · shape VCCCCCVCC  ·  "Ausschnitt" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abschnitt ← abbschnitt · abcshnitt · abscchnitt · abschhnitt · abschintt · abschnit · abschnnitt · abschntit
  • Ausschnitt ← asuschnitt · auschnitt · auscshnitt · ausscchnitt · ausschhnitt · ausschintt · ausschnit · ausschnnitt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Abschnitt" and "Ausschnitt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌʃnɪt] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌʃnɪt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Abschnitt" or "Ausschnitt" show up more?
"Abschnitt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,575 in our German list, against #8,172 for "Ausschnitt". 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 "Abschnitt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ausschnitt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,973,535 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Abschnitt" and "Ausschnitt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abschnitt vs Abschrift". 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 #1,973,535 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