ausrichtenvsAusrichtungWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#9,148
“ausrichten” frequency rank
#5,799
“Ausrichtung” frequency rank
14947
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausrichten Ausrichtung
Definition eine Richtung geben, justieren das Ausrichten

Where the eye mixes ausrichten and Ausrichtung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. ausrichten runs 10 letters (VVCCVCCCVC) against Ausrichtung's 11 (VVCCVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
ausrichten
11 ch
Ausrichtung

Why the eye confuses ausrichten with Ausrichtung

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ausrichten is [ˈaʊ̯sˌʁɪçtn̩] while Ausrichtung is [ˈaʊ̯sˌʁɪçtʊŋ]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14947, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ausrichten is recorded at frequency rank #9,148, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʁɪçtn̩]. Ausrichtung is at rank #5,799, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʁɪçtʊŋ].

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 14947, this pair ranks #1,947,560 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ausrichten vs Ausrichtung

Shared letters: achinrstu. Private to "ausrichten": e. Private to "Ausrichtung": g.

"ausrichten" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCCCVC  ·  "Ausrichtung" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausrichtenasurichten · aursichten · ausirchten · ausrcihten · ausricchten · ausrichetn · ausrichhten · ausrichtenn
  • Ausrichtungasurichtung · aursichtung · ausirchtung · ausrcihtung · ausricchtung · ausrichhtung · ausrichtnug · ausrichttung

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ausrichten" for "Ausrichtung" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ausrichten" is a verb and "Ausrichtung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ausrichten" or "Ausrichtung"?
"Ausrichtung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,799 in our German list, against #9,148 for "ausrichten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ausrichten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ausrichtung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,947,560 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ausrichten" and "Ausrichtung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausrichten vs ausrichtet". 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 #1,947,560 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