aussehenvsaussetzenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,408
“aussehen” frequency rank
#13,102
“aussetzen” frequency rank
14510
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aussehen aussetzen
Definition ein Bild nach außen abgeben aus der Obhut entlassen, verstoßen

Where the eye mixes aussehen and aussetzen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. aussehen runs 8 letters (VVCCVCVC) against aussetzen's 9 (VVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
aussehen
9 ch
aussetzen

Why the eye confuses aussehen with aussetzen

A purely visual mix-up. aussehen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌz̥eːən]) and aussetzen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌzɛt͡sn̩]) 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 14510, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aussehen is recorded at frequency rank #1,408, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌz̥eːən]. aussetzen is at rank #13,102, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌzɛt͡sn̩].

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 14510, this pair ranks #1,950,701 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of aussehen vs aussetzen

Shared letters: aensu. Private to "aussehen": h. Private to "aussetzen": tz.

"aussehen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC  ·  "aussetzen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aussehen ← asusehen · ausehen · auseshen · ausseehn · aussehenn · aussehhen · aussehne · aussheen
  • aussetzen ← asusetzen · ausestzen · ausetzen · aussetezn · aussettzen · aussetzenn · aussetzne · aussetzzen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "aussehen" and "aussetzen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌz̥eːən] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌzɛt͡sn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "aussehen" vs "aussetzen" - which ranks higher?
"aussehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,408 in our German list, against #13,102 for "aussetzen". 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 "aussehen" and "aussetzen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aussehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aussetzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,950,701 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aussehen" and "aussetzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aussenden vs aussetzen". 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 #1,950,701 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