abzusprechenvsauszusprechenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#35,038
“abzusprechen” frequency rank
#15,032
“auszusprechen” frequency rank
50070
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abzusprechen auszusprechen
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs absprechen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs aussprechen

Where the eye mixes abzusprechen and auszusprechen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. abzusprechen runs 12 letters (VCCVCCCVCCVC) against auszusprechen's 13 (VVCCVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch
abzusprechen
13 ch
auszusprechen

Look-alike desk: abzusprechen vs auszusprechen

A purely visual mix-up. abzusprechen ([ˈapt͡suˌʃpʁɛçn̩]) and auszusprechen ([ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌʃpʁɛçn̩]) 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 50070, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abzusprechen is recorded at frequency rank #35,038, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌʃpʁɛçn̩]. auszusprechen is at rank #15,032, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌʃpʁɛçn̩].

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 50070, this pair ranks #1,187,765 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abzusprechen vs auszusprechen

Shared letters: acehnprsuz. Private to "abzusprechen": b. Private to "auszusprechen": -.

"abzusprechen" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCVC  ·  "auszusprechen" · 13 letters · shape VVCCVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abzusprechen ← abbzusprechen · abuzsprechen · abzsuprechen · abzupsrechen · abzusperchen · abzuspprechen · abzusprcehen · abzusprecchen
  • auszusprechen ← asuzusprechen · ausszusprechen · ausuzsprechen · auszsuprechen · auszupsrechen · auszusperchen · auszuspprechen · auszusprcehen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abzusprechen" for "auszusprechen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapt͡suˌʃpʁɛçn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌʃpʁɛçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abzusprechen" vs "auszusprechen" - which ranks higher?
"auszusprechen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,032 in our German list, against #35,038 for "abzusprechen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abzusprechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "auszusprechen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,187,765 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abzusprechen" and "auszusprechen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzubrechen vs abzusprechen". 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 #1,187,765 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