AnschreibenvsausschreibenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Anschreiben is a noun, ausschreiben is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Anschreiben” is a noun and “ausschreiben” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,857
“Anschreiben” frequency rank
#36,201
“ausschreiben” frequency rank
49058
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Anschreiben ausschreiben
Definition einleitender Text einer Postzustellung, der Absender, Empfänger, Betreff und Grund beziehungsweise das Anliegen der Postzustellung enthält ein Wort mit allen Buchstaben, nicht abgekürzt schreiben

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Anschreiben and ausschreiben apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
Anschreiben
12 ch
ausschreiben

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Anschreiben and ausschreiben form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49058, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Anschreiben is recorded at frequency rank #12,857, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌʃʁaɪ̯bn̩]. ausschreiben is at rank #36,201, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʃʁaɪ̯bn̩].

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 49058, this pair ranks #1,225,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

Anschreiben#12,857
ausschreiben#36,201

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Anschreiben" and "ausschreiben" be used interchangeably?
No, "Anschreiben" and "ausschreiben" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering Anschreiben vs ausschreiben

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Anschreiben”; for a verb, it's “ausschreiben”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Anschreiben” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list