auszusehenvsauszusetzenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#19,501
“auszusehen” frequency rank
#14,744
“auszusetzen” frequency rank
34245
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature auszusehen auszusetzen
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs aussehen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs aussetzen

Where the eye mixes auszusehen and auszusetzen

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

10 ch
auszusehen
11 ch
auszusetzen

Why the eye confuses auszusehen with auszusetzen

A purely visual mix-up. auszusehen ([ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌz̥eːən]) and auszusetzen ([ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌzɛt͡sn̩]) 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 34245, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

auszusehen is recorded at frequency rank #19,501, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌz̥eːən]. auszusetzen is at rank #14,744, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌzɛt͡sn̩].

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 34245, this pair ranks #1,667,748 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of auszusehen vs auszusetzen

Shared letters: aensuz. Private to "auszusehen": h. Private to "auszusetzen": t.

"auszusehen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCVCVC  ·  "auszusetzen" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • auszusehenasuzusehen · ausszusehen · ausuzsehen · auszsuehen · auszueshen · auszuseehn · auszusehenn · auszusehhen
  • auszusetzenasuzusetzen · ausszusetzen · ausuzsetzen · auszsuetzen · auszuestzen · auszusetezn · auszusettzen · auszusetzenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "auszusehen" and "auszusetzen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌz̥eːən] versus [ˈaʊ̯st͡suˌzɛt͡sn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "auszusehen" or "auszusetzen"?
"auszusetzen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,744 in our German list, against #19,501 for "auszusehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "auszusehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "auszusetzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,667,748 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "auszusehen" and "auszusetzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "auszuruhen vs auszusehen". 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 #1,667,748 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