Which to use
“anpacken” and “auspacken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,827
- “anpacken” frequency rank
- #16,640
- “auspacken” frequency rank
- 40467
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | anpacken | auspacken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden oder etwas fest mit der Hand anfassen | etwas, das eingepackt ist, aus der Verpackung nehmen |
Where the eye mixes anpacken and auspacken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. anpacken runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against auspacken's 9 (VVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: anpacken vs auspacken
A purely visual mix-up. anpacken ([ˈanˌpakn̩]) and auspacken ([ˈaʊ̯sˌpakn̩]) 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 40467, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
anpacken is recorded at frequency rank #23,827, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌpakn̩]. auspacken is at rank #16,640, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌpakn̩].
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 40467, this pair ranks #1,507,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of anpacken vs auspacken
Shared letters: aceknp. Private to "anpacken": -. Private to "auspacken": su.
"anpacken" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "auspacken" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "anpacken" for "auspacken" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "anpacken" or "auspacken" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "anpacken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "auspacken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,507,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "anpacken" and "auspacken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "auspacken vs ausrücken". 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 #1,507,639 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.