AufsehenvsausstehenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#10,419
“Aufsehen” frequency rank
#25,452
“ausstehen” frequency rank
35871
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Aufsehen ausstehen
Definition besondere öffentliche Aufmerksamkeit erwartet werden, aber noch fehlen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Aufsehen and ausstehen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
Aufsehen
9 ch
ausstehen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Aufsehen is [ˈaʊ̯fˌzeːən] while ausstehen is [ˈaʊ̯sˌʃteːən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35871, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Aufsehen is recorded at frequency rank #10,419, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌzeːən]. ausstehen is at rank #25,452, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʃteːən].

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 35871, this pair ranks #1,629,510 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Aufsehen vs ausstehen

Shared letters: aehnsu. Private to "Aufsehen": f. Private to "ausstehen": t.

"Aufsehen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC  ·  "ausstehen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Aufsehenafusehen · aufeshen · auffsehen · aufseehn · aufsehenn · aufsehhen · aufsehne · aufsheen
  • ausstehenasustehen · aussethen · aussteehn · ausstehenn · ausstehhen · ausstehne · ausstheen · aussttehen

Frequency comparison

Aufsehen#10,419
ausstehen#25,452

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Aufsehen" and "ausstehen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Aufsehen" is a noun and "ausstehen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Aufsehen" or "ausstehen"?
"Aufsehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,419 in our German list, against #25,452 for "ausstehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Aufsehen vs ausstehen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Aufsehen”; for a verb, it's “ausstehen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Aufsehen” 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