ausdrückenvsauszudrückenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#6,272
“ausdrücken” frequency rank
#11,816
“auszudrücken” frequency rank
18088
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausdrücken auszudrücken
Definition etwas durch Andruck oder Pressen nahezu vollständig leeren erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs ausdrücken

Where the eye mixes ausdrücken and auszudrücken

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. ausdrücken runs 10 letters (VVCCCVCCVC) against auszudrücken's 12 (VVCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
ausdrücken
12 ch
auszudrücken

Visual trap between ausdrücken and auszudrücken

A purely visual mix-up. ausdrücken ([ˈaʊ̯sˌdʁʏkn̩]) and auszudrücken ([ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌdʁʏkn̩]) 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 18088, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ausdrücken is recorded at frequency rank #6,272, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌdʁʏkn̩]. auszudrücken is at rank #11,816, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌdʁʏkn̩].

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 18088, this pair ranks #1,921,519 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ausdrücken vs auszudrücken

Shared letters: acdeknrsuü. Private to "ausdrücken": -. Private to "auszudrücken": z.

"ausdrücken" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVCCVC  ·  "auszudrücken" · 12 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ausdrücken" for "auszudrücken" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌdʁʏkn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌdʁʏkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ausdrücken" or "auszudrücken"?
"ausdrücken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,272 in our German list, against #11,816 for "auszudrücken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ausdrücken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "auszudrücken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,921,519 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ausdrücken" and "auszudrücken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausdrücken vs ausdrückte". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,921,519 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