ausschaltenvsausschüttenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,814
“ausschalten” frequency rank
#43,030
“ausschütten” frequency rank
53844
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausschalten ausschütten
Definition die Funktion eines Gerätes beenden, indem man die Stromzufuhr unterbricht eine Flüssigkeit, ein feines Granulat oder Ähnliches durch Neigung des Behälters aus diesem entfernen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ausschalten and ausschütten apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
ausschalten
11 ch
ausschütten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ausschalten ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʃaltn̩]) and ausschütten ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʃʏtn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53844, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ausschalten is recorded at frequency rank #10,814, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʃaltn̩]. ausschütten is at rank #43,030, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʃʏtn̩].

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 53844, this pair ranks #1,042,134 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ausschalten vs ausschütten

Shared letters: acehnstu. Private to "ausschalten": l. Private to "ausschütten": ü.

"ausschalten" · 11 letters · shape VVCCCCVCCVC  ·  "ausschütten" · 11 letters · shape VVCCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausschaltenasuschalten · auschalten · auscshalten · ausscahlten · ausscchalten · ausschaletn · ausschallten · ausschaltenn

Frequency comparison

ausschalten#10,814
ausschütten#43,030

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ausschalten" and "ausschütten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʃaltn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌʃʏtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ausschalten" or "ausschütten"?
"ausschalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,814 in our German list, against #43,030 for "ausschütten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ausschalten vs ausschütten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ausschalten” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list