abzuhaltenvsauszuhaltenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#14,484
“abzuhalten” frequency rank
#19,499
“auszuhalten” frequency rank
33983
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abzuhalten auszuhalten
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abhalten erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs aushalten

Where the eye mixes abzuhalten and auszuhalten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. abzuhalten runs 10 letters (VCCVCVCCVC) against auszuhalten's 11 (VVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
abzuhalten
11 ch
auszuhalten

Visual trap between abzuhalten and auszuhalten

A purely visual mix-up. abzuhalten ([ˈapt͡suˌhaltn̩]) and auszuhalten ([ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌhaltn̩]) 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 33983, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abzuhalten is recorded at frequency rank #14,484, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌhaltn̩]. auszuhalten is at rank #19,499, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌhaltn̩].

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 33983, this pair ranks #1,673,679 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abzuhalten vs auszuhalten

Shared letters: aehlntuz. Private to "abzuhalten": b. Private to "auszuhalten": s.

"abzuhalten" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC  ·  "auszuhalten" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abzuhalten ← abbzuhalten · abuzhalten · abzhualten · abzuahlten · abzuhaletn · abzuhallten · abzuhaltenn · abzuhaltne
  • auszuhalten ← asuzuhalten · ausszuhalten · ausuzhalten · auszhualten · auszuahlten · auszuhaletn · auszuhallten · auszuhaltenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "abzuhalten" and "auszuhalten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapt͡suˌhaltn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌhaltn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abzuhalten" vs "auszuhalten" - which ranks higher?
"abzuhalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,484 in our German list, against #19,499 for "auszuhalten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "abzuhalten" and "auszuhalten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abzuhalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "auszuhalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,673,679 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abzuhalten" and "auszuhalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anzuhalten vs auszuhalten". 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 #1,673,679 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