Which to use
“Abschreibung” and “Ausschreibung” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,683
- “Abschreibung” frequency rank
- #10,234
- “Ausschreibung” frequency rank
- 53917
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Abschreibung | Ausschreibung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Verringerung des Buchwerts von Sachanlagen aufgrund von Abnutzung, oder von Forderungen aufgrund von Uneinbringlichkeit | schriftliche Bekanntmachung darüber, dass man ein bestimmtes Angebot macht, mit der Aufforderung, sich darum zu bewerben oder daran teilzunehmen |
Where the eye mixes Abschreibung and Ausschreibung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. Abschreibung runs 12 letters (VCCCCCVVCVCC) against Ausschreibung's 13 (VVCCCCCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Abschreibung with Ausschreibung
A purely visual mix-up. Abschreibung ([ˈapʃʁaɪ̯bʊŋ]) and Ausschreibung ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʃʁaɪ̯bʊŋ]) 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 53917, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Abschreibung is recorded at frequency rank #43,683, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapʃʁaɪ̯bʊŋ]. Ausschreibung is at rank #10,234, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʃʁaɪ̯bʊŋ].
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 53917, this pair ranks #1,039,261 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Abschreibung vs Ausschreibung
Shared letters: abceghinrsu. Private to "Abschreibung": -. Private to "Ausschreibung": -.
"Abschreibung" · 12 letters · shape VCCCCCVVCVCC · "Ausschreibung" · 13 letters · shape VVCCCCCVVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Abschreibung ← abbschreibung · abcshreibung · abscchreibung · abscheribung · abschhreibung · abschrebiung · abschreibbung · abschreibnug
- Ausschreibung ← asuschreibung · auschreibung · auscshreibung · ausscchreibung · ausscheribung · ausschhreibung · ausschrebiung · ausschreibbung
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Abschreibung" for "Ausschreibung" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Abschreibung" or "Ausschreibung" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Abschreibung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ausschreibung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,039,261 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Abschreibung" and "Ausschreibung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abschreibung vs Abschreibungen". 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 #1,039,261 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.