abzugebenvsauszugebenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,018
“abzugeben” frequency rank
#15,825
“auszugeben” frequency rank
23843
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abzugeben auszugeben
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abgeben erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs ausgeben

Where the eye mixes abzugeben and auszugeben

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

9 ch
abzugeben
10 ch
auszugeben

Visual trap between abzugeben and auszugeben

A purely visual mix-up. abzugeben ([ˈapt͡suˌɡeːbn̩]) and auszugeben ([ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌɡeːbn̩]) 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 23843, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abzugeben is recorded at frequency rank #8,018, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌɡeːbn̩]. auszugeben is at rank #15,825, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌɡeːbn̩].

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 23843, this pair ranks #1,855,899 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abzugeben vs auszugeben

Shared letters: abegnuz. Private to "abzugeben": -. Private to "auszugeben": s.

"abzugeben" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC  ·  "auszugeben" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abzugebenabbzugeben · abuzgeben · abzgueben · abzuegben · abzugbeen · abzugebben · abzugebenn · abzugebne
  • auszugebenasuzugeben · ausszugeben · ausuzgeben · auszgueben · auszuegben · auszugbeen · auszugebben · auszugebenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abzugeben" for "auszugeben" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapt͡suˌɡeːbn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌɡeːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abzugeben" or "auszugeben"?
"abzugeben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,018 in our German list, against #15,825 for "auszugeben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "abzugeben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "auszugeben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,855,899 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abzugeben" and "auszugeben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "auszugeben vs auszuleben". 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 #1,855,899 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