ausarbeitenvsauszuarbeitenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#31,438
“ausarbeiten” frequency rank
#38,611
“auszuarbeiten” frequency rank
70049
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausarbeiten auszuarbeiten
Definition etwas, das als Entwurf schon vorhanden ist, bis ins Detail fertig machen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs ausarbeiten

Where the eye mixes ausarbeiten and auszuarbeiten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. ausarbeiten runs 11 letters (VVCVCCVVCVC) against auszuarbeiten's 13 (VVCCVVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
ausarbeiten
13 ch
auszuarbeiten

Look-alike desk: ausarbeiten vs auszuarbeiten

A purely visual mix-up. ausarbeiten ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʔaʁbaɪ̯tn̩]) and auszuarbeiten ([ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌʔaʁbaɪ̯tn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70049, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ausarbeiten is recorded at frequency rank #31,438, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʔaʁbaɪ̯tn̩]. auszuarbeiten is at rank #38,611, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌʔaʁbaɪ̯tn̩].

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 70049, this pair ranks #458,019 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ausarbeiten vs auszuarbeiten

Shared letters: abeinrstu. Private to "ausarbeiten": -. Private to "auszuarbeiten": z.

"ausarbeiten" · 11 letters · shape VVCVCCVVCVC  ·  "auszuarbeiten" · 13 letters · shape VVCCVVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausarbeiten ← asuarbeiten · auasrbeiten · ausabreiten · ausarbbeiten · ausarbeietn · ausarbeitenn · ausarbeitne · ausarbeitten
  • auszuarbeiten ← asuzuarbeiten · ausszuarbeiten · ausuzarbeiten · auszaurbeiten · auszuabreiten · auszuarbbeiten · auszuarbeietn · auszuarbeitenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ausarbeiten" for "auszuarbeiten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʔaʁbaɪ̯tn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌʔaʁbaɪ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ausarbeiten" vs "auszuarbeiten" - which ranks higher?
"ausarbeiten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,438 in our German list, against #38,611 for "auszuarbeiten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ausarbeiten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "auszuarbeiten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #458,019 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ausarbeiten" and "auszuarbeiten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzuarbeiten vs auszuarbeiten". 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 #458,019 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