Which to use
“absteigen” and “aussteigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,112
- “absteigen” frequency rank
- #8,679
- “aussteigen” frequency rank
- 27791
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | absteigen | aussteigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | an Höhe verlieren, nach unten verlaufen, einen abschüssigen Verlauf nehmen | sich aus einem Beförderungsmittel begeben, ein Verkehrsmittel verlassen |
Where the eye mixes absteigen and aussteigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. absteigen runs 9 letters (VCCCVVCVC) against aussteigen's 10 (VVCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses absteigen with aussteigen
A purely visual mix-up. absteigen ([ˈapˌʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩]) and aussteigen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩]) 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 27791, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
absteigen is recorded at frequency rank #19,112, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩]. aussteigen is at rank #8,679, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩].
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 27791, this pair ranks #1,795,843 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of absteigen vs aussteigen
Shared letters: aeginst. Private to "absteigen": b. Private to "aussteigen": u.
"absteigen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC · "aussteigen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- absteigen ← abbsteigen · absetigen · abssteigen · abstegien · absteiegn · absteigenn · absteiggen · absteigne
- aussteigen ← asusteigen · aussetigen · ausstegien · aussteiegn · aussteigenn · aussteiggen · aussteigne · ausstiegen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "absteigen" and "aussteigen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "absteigen" or "aussteigen" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "absteigen" and "aussteigen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "absteigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aussteigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,795,843 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "absteigen" and "aussteigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufsteigend vs aussteigen". 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 #1,795,843 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.