Which to use
“anschalten” and “aushalten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,336
- “anschalten” frequency rank
- #8,170
- “aushalten” frequency rank
- 50506
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | anschalten | aushalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch einen Schalter aktivieren; mit einem Schalter anmachen | eine unangenehme Situation ertragen oder ertragen können |
Where the eye mixes anschalten and aushalten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. anschalten runs 10 letters (VCCCCVCCVC) against aushalten's 9 (VVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: anschalten vs aushalten
A purely visual mix-up. anschalten ([ˈanˌʃaltn̩]) and aushalten ([ˈaʊ̯sˌhaltn̩]) 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 50506, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
anschalten is recorded at frequency rank #42,336, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌʃaltn̩]. aushalten is at rank #8,170, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌhaltn̩].
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 50506, this pair ranks #1,171,113 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of anschalten vs aushalten
Shared letters: aehlnst. Private to "anschalten": c. Private to "aushalten": u.
"anschalten" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC · "aushalten" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- anschalten ← ancshalten · annschalten · anscahlten · anscchalten · anschaletn · anschallten · anschaltenn · anschaltne
- aushalten ← asuhalten · auhsalten · ausahlten · aushaletn · aushallten · aushaltenn · aushaltne · aushaltten
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "anschalten" for "aushalten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "anschalten" or "aushalten" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "anschalten" and "aushalten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "anschalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aushalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,171,113 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "anschalten" and "aushalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anschalten vs anzuhalten". 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 #1,171,113 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.