aufzusuchenvsauszusuchenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#24,619
“aufzusuchen” frequency rank
#33,986
“auszusuchen” frequency rank
58605
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufzusuchen auszusuchen
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs aufsuchen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs aussuchen

Where the eye mixes aufzusuchen and auszusuchen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. aufzusuchen and auszusuchen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

11 ch
aufzusuchen
11 ch
auszusuchen

Look-alike desk: aufzusuchen vs auszusuchen

A purely visual mix-up. aufzusuchen ([ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌzuːxn̩]) and auszusuchen ([ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌzuːxn̩]) 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 “aufzusuchen” becomes s in “auszusuchen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58605, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aufzusuchen is recorded at frequency rank #24,619, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌzuːxn̩]. auszusuchen is at rank #33,986, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌzuːxn̩].

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 58605, this pair ranks #856,348 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aufzusuchen vs auszusuchen

Shared letters: acehnsuz. Private to "aufzusuchen": f. Private to "auszusuchen": -.

"aufzusuchen" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC  ·  "auszusuchen" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aufzusuchen ← afuzusuchen · auffzusuchen · aufuzsuchen · aufzsuuchen · aufzuscuhen · aufzussuchen · aufzusucchen · aufzusucehn
  • auszusuchen ← asuzusuchen · ausszusuchen · ausuzsuchen · auszsuuchen · auszuscuhen · auszussuchen · auszusucchen · auszusucehn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "aufzusuchen" for "auszusuchen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌzuːxn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌzuːxn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aufzusuchen" or "auszusuchen"?
"aufzusuchen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,619 in our German list, against #33,986 for "auszusuchen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "aufzusuchen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "auszusuchen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #856,348 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aufzusuchen" and "auszusuchen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "auszuruhen vs auszusuchen". 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 #856,348 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