abstreitenvsaustretenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#34,498
“abstreiten” frequency rank
#23,031
“austreten” frequency rank
57529
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abstreiten austreten
Definition eine Behauptung oder einen Vorwurf nicht anerkennen seinen Platz/Bereich die Grenze überschreitend verlassen; aus etwas heraustreten, herausströmen, hervorquellen

Where the eye mixes abstreiten and austreten

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

10 ch
abstreiten
9 ch
austreten

Visual trap between abstreiten and austreten

A purely visual mix-up. abstreiten ([ˈapˌʃtʁaɪ̯tn̩]) and austreten ([ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁeːtn̩]) 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 57529, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abstreiten is recorded at frequency rank #34,498, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃtʁaɪ̯tn̩]. austreten is at rank #23,031, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁeːtn̩].

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 57529, this pair ranks #897,908 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abstreiten vs austreten

Shared letters: aenrst. Private to "abstreiten": bi. Private to "austreten": u.

"abstreiten" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVVCVC  ·  "austreten" · 9 letters · shape VVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abstreiten ← abbstreiten · absrteiten · absstreiten · absteriten · abstreietn · abstreitenn · abstreitne · abstreitten
  • austreten ← asutreten · ausrteten · ausstreten · austerten · austreetn · austretenn · austretne · austretten

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abstreiten" for "austreten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌʃtʁaɪ̯tn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁeːtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abstreiten" or "austreten"?
"austreten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,031 in our German list, against #34,498 for "abstreiten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "abstreiten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "austreten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #897,908 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abstreiten" and "austreten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abstreiten 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 #897,908 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