Which to use
“ausreichen” and “auszeichnen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,232
- “ausreichen” frequency rank
- #20,177
- “auszeichnen” frequency rank
- 30409
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ausreichen | auszeichnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | genügen, zufriedenstellend sein | jemanden bevorzugt behandeln, indem man ihm/ihr etwas Positives zukommen lässt |
Where the eye mixes ausreichen and auszeichnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. ausreichen runs 10 letters (VVCCVVCCVC) against auszeichnen's 11 (VVCCVVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: ausreichen vs auszeichnen
A purely visual mix-up. ausreichen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʁaɪ̯çn̩]) and auszeichnen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌt͡saɪ̯çnən]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30409, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ausreichen is recorded at frequency rank #10,232, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʁaɪ̯çn̩]. auszeichnen is at rank #20,177, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌt͡saɪ̯çnən].
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 30409, this pair ranks #1,748,421 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ausreichen vs auszeichnen
Shared letters: acehinsu. Private to "ausreichen": r. Private to "auszeichnen": z.
"ausreichen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVVCCVC · "auszeichnen" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ausreichen ← asureichen · aurseichen · auserichen · ausrecihen · ausreicchen · ausreicehn · ausreichenn · ausreichhen
- auszeichnen ← asuzeichnen · ausezichnen · ausszeichnen · auszecihnen · auszeicchnen · auszeichenn · auszeichhnen · auszeichnenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ausreichen" for "auszeichnen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "ausreichen" or "auszeichnen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ausreichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "auszeichnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,748,421 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ausreichen" and "auszeichnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausrechnen vs auszeichnen". 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 #1,748,421 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.