anzusprechenvsauszusprechenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,858
“anzusprechen” frequency rank
#15,032
“auszusprechen” frequency rank
27890
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature anzusprechen auszusprechen
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs ansprechen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs aussprechen

Where the eye mixes anzusprechen and auszusprechen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. anzusprechen 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
anzusprechen
13 ch
auszusprechen

Look-alike desk: anzusprechen vs auszusprechen

A purely visual mix-up. anzusprechen ([ˈant͡suˌʃpʁɛçn̩]) 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 27890, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

anzusprechen is recorded at frequency rank #12,858, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈant͡suˌʃpʁɛçn̩]. 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 27890, this pair ranks #1,794,128 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of anzusprechen vs auszusprechen

Shared letters: acehnprsuz. Private to "anzusprechen": -. Private to "auszusprechen": -.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • anzusprechen ← annzusprechen · anuzsprechen · anzsuprechen · anzupsrechen · anzusperchen · anzuspprechen · anzusprcehen · anzusprecchen
  • auszusprechen ← asuzusprechen · ausszusprechen · ausuzsprechen · auszsuprechen · auszupsrechen · auszusperchen · auszuspprechen · auszusprcehen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "anzusprechen" for "auszusprechen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈant͡suˌʃpʁɛçn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌʃpʁɛçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "anzusprechen" or "auszusprechen"?
"anzusprechen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,858 in our German list, against #15,032 for "auszusprechen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "anzusprechen" and "auszusprechen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "anzusprechen" 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 #1,794,128 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "anzusprechen" and "auszusprechen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "auszubrechen vs auszusprechen". 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 #1,794,128 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