AnzahlungvsAuszahlungTell them apart

Which to use

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

#27,617
“Anzahlung” frequency rank
#15,824
“Auszahlung” frequency rank
43441
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Anzahlung Auszahlung
Definition Zahlung des ersten Teiles eines Gesamtbetrages (beim Geldautomaten) das Geld, das der Automat auswirft (und die Tätigkeit dessen)

Where the eye mixes Anzahlung and Auszahlung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Anzahlung runs 9 letters (VCCVCCVCC) against Auszahlung's 10 (VVCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
Anzahlung
10 ch
Auszahlung

Why the eye confuses Anzahlung with Auszahlung

A purely visual mix-up. Anzahlung ([ˈanˌt͡saːlʊŋ]) and Auszahlung ([ˈaʊ̯sˌt͡saːlʊŋ]) 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 43441, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Anzahlung is recorded at frequency rank #27,617, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌt͡saːlʊŋ]. Auszahlung is at rank #15,824, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌt͡saːlʊŋ].

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 43441, this pair ranks #1,418,012 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Anzahlung vs Auszahlung

Shared letters: aghlnuz. Private to "Anzahlung": -. Private to "Auszahlung": s.

"Anzahlung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC  ·  "Auszahlung" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Anzahlung ← anazhlung · annzahlung · anzahhlung · anzahllung · anzahlnug · anzahlugn · anzahlungg · anzahlunng
  • Auszahlung ← asuzahlung · ausazhlung · ausszahlung · auszahhlung · auszahllung · auszahlnug · auszahlugn · auszahlungg

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Anzahlung" for "Auszahlung" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanˌt͡saːlʊŋ] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌt͡saːlʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Anzahlung" vs "Auszahlung" - which ranks higher?
"Auszahlung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,824 in our German list, against #27,617 for "Anzahlung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Anzahlung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Auszahlung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,418,012 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Anzahlung" and "Auszahlung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Auszahlung vs Auszahlungen". 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 #1,418,012 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