aufrichtenvsausrichtenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#40,389
“aufrichten” frequency rank
#9,148
“ausrichten” frequency rank
49537
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufrichten ausrichten
Definition etwas oder jemanden in die physikalisch aufrechte Lage bringen eine Richtung geben, justieren

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set aufrichten and ausrichten apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
aufrichten
10 ch
ausrichten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. aufrichten ([ˈaʊ̯fˌʁɪçtn̩]) and ausrichten ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʁɪçtn̩]) 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 a single letter - f in “aufrichten” becomes s in “ausrichten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49537, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aufrichten is recorded at frequency rank #40,389, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌʁɪçtn̩]. ausrichten is at rank #9,148, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʁɪçtn̩].

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 49537, this pair ranks #1,207,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aufrichten vs ausrichten

Shared letters: acehinrtu. Private to "aufrichten": f. Private to "ausrichten": s.

"aufrichten" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCCCVC  ·  "ausrichten" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aufrichtenafurichten · auffrichten · aufirchten · aufrcihten · aufricchten · aufrichetn · aufrichhten · aufrichtenn
  • ausrichtenasurichten · aursichten · ausirchten · ausrcihten · ausricchten · ausrichetn · ausrichhten · ausrichtenn

Frequency comparison

aufrichten#40,389
ausrichten#9,148

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aufrichten" and "ausrichten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fˌʁɪçtn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌʁɪçtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aufrichten" or "ausrichten"?
"ausrichten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,148 in our German list, against #40,389 for "aufrichten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering aufrichten vs ausrichten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “aufrichten” 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