ausrichtenvsauszurichtenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,148
“ausrichten” frequency rank
#21,892
“auszurichten” frequency rank
31040
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausrichten auszurichten
Definition eine Richtung geben, justieren erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs ausrichten

Where the eye mixes ausrichten and auszurichten

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

10 ch
ausrichten
12 ch
auszurichten

Why the eye confuses ausrichten with auszurichten

A purely visual mix-up. ausrichten ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʁɪçtn̩]) and auszurichten ([ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌʁɪçtn̩]) 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 31040, 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]. auszurichten is at rank #21,892, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌʁɪçtn̩].

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 31040, this pair ranks #1,736,005 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ausrichten vs auszurichten

Shared letters: acehinrstu. Private to "ausrichten": -. Private to "auszurichten": z.

"ausrichten" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCCCVC  ·  "auszurichten" · 12 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausrichten ← asurichten · aursichten · ausirchten · ausrcihten · ausricchten · ausrichetn · ausrichhten · ausrichtenn
  • auszurichten ← asuzurichten · ausszurichten · ausuzrichten · auszruichten · auszuirchten · auszurcihten · auszuricchten · auszurichetn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ausrichten" for "auszurichten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʁɪçtn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌʁɪçtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ausrichten" or "auszurichten"?
"ausrichten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,148 in our German list, against #21,892 for "auszurichten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "ausrichten" and "auszurichten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ausrichten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "auszurichten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,736,005 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ausrichten" and "auszurichten" 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 #1,736,005 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