Which to use
“abweichen” and “ausweichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,757
- “abweichen” frequency rank
- #10,815
- “ausweichen” frequency rank
- 24572
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abweichen | ausweichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich von einer Norm oder Regularität unterscheiden | eine Bewegung machen, um einen Zusammenstoß zu vermeiden; jemandem Platz machen |
Where the eye mixes abweichen and ausweichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses abweichen with ausweichen
A purely visual mix-up. abweichen ([ˈapˌvaɪ̯çn̩]) and ausweichen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌvaɪ̯çn̩]) 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 24572, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abweichen is recorded at frequency rank #13,757, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌvaɪ̯çn̩]. ausweichen is at rank #10,815, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌvaɪ̯çn̩].
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 24572, this pair ranks #1,845,712 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abweichen vs ausweichen
Shared letters: acehinw. Private to "abweichen": b. Private to "ausweichen": su.
"abweichen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCCVC · "ausweichen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abweichen ← abbweichen · abewichen · abwecihen · abweicchen · abweicehn · abweichenn · abweichhen · abweichne
- ausweichen ← asuweichen · ausewichen · aussweichen · auswecihen · ausweicchen · ausweicehn · ausweichenn · ausweichhen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abweichen" and "ausweichen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "abweichen" or "ausweichen"?
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 "abweichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ausweichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,845,712 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abweichen" and "ausweichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgewichen vs abweichen". 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 #1,845,712 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.