abstellenvsausteilenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#12,221
“abstellen” frequency rank
#37,978
“austeilen” frequency rank
50199
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abstellen austeilen
Definition aus der Hand legen und auf einer Fläche platzieren Gegenstände an mehrere Personen verteilen

Where the eye mixes abstellen and austeilen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. abstellen (VCCCVCCVC) and austeilen (VVCCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

9 ch
abstellen
9 ch
austeilen

Visual trap between abstellen and austeilen

A purely visual mix-up. abstellen ([ˈapˌʃtɛlən]) and austeilen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌtaɪ̯lən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50199, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abstellen is recorded at frequency rank #12,221, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃtɛlən]. austeilen is at rank #37,978, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌtaɪ̯lən].

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 50199, this pair ranks #1,182,814 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abstellen vs austeilen

Shared letters: aelnst. Private to "abstellen": b. Private to "austeilen": iu.

"abstellen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "austeilen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abstellen ← abbstellen · absetllen · absstellen · absteleln · abstelen · abstellenn · abstellne · abstlelen
  • austeilen ← asuteilen · ausetilen · aussteilen · austeieln · austeilenn · austeillen · austeilne · austelien

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "abstellen" and "austeilen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌʃtɛlən] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌtaɪ̯lən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abstellen" vs "austeilen" - which ranks higher?
"abstellen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,221 in our German list, against #37,978 for "austeilen". 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 "abstellen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "austeilen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,182,814 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abstellen" and "austeilen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "austeilen vs austreiben". 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 #1,182,814 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