abzubrechenvsauszubrechenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,427
“abzubrechen” frequency rank
#38,612
“auszubrechen” frequency rank
64039
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abzubrechen auszubrechen
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abbrechen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs ausbrechen

Where the eye mixes abzubrechen and auszubrechen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. abzubrechen runs 11 letters (VCCVCCVCCVC) against auszubrechen's 12 (VVCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
abzubrechen
12 ch
auszubrechen

Look-alike desk: abzubrechen vs auszubrechen

A purely visual mix-up. abzubrechen ([ˈapt͡suˌbʁɛçn̩]) and auszubrechen ([ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌbʁɛçn̩]) 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 64039, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abzubrechen is recorded at frequency rank #25,427, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌbʁɛçn̩]. auszubrechen is at rank #38,612, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌbʁɛçn̩].

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 64039, this pair ranks #655,524 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abzubrechen vs auszubrechen

Shared letters: abcehnruz. Private to "abzubrechen": -. Private to "auszubrechen": s.

"abzubrechen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC  ·  "auszubrechen" · 12 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abzubrechen ← abbzubrechen · abuzbrechen · abzburechen · abzubbrechen · abzuberchen · abzubrcehen · abzubrecchen · abzubrecehn
  • auszubrechen ← asuzubrechen · ausszubrechen · ausuzbrechen · auszburechen · auszubbrechen · auszuberchen · auszubrcehen · auszubrecchen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abzubrechen" for "auszubrechen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapt͡suˌbʁɛçn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌbʁɛçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abzubrechen" vs "auszubrechen" - which ranks higher?
"abzubrechen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,427 in our German list, against #38,612 for "auszubrechen". 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 "abzubrechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "auszubrechen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #655,524 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abzubrechen" and "auszubrechen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufzubrechen vs auszubrechen". 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 #655,524 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