Which to use
“abgefallen” is an adjective and “ausgefallen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,334
- “abgefallen” frequency rank
- #8,828
- “ausgefallen” frequency rank
- 46162
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abgefallen | ausgefallen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein im Ergebnis einer abwärts gerichteten, fallenden, (sich) lösenden Bewegung entstandener Zustand | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ausfallen |
Where the eye mixes abgefallen and ausgefallen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. abgefallen runs 10 letters (VCCVCVCCVC) against ausgefallen's 11 (VVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: abgefallen vs ausgefallen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abgefallen is [ˈapɡəˌfalən] while ausgefallen is [ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌfalən]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46162, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abgefallen is recorded at frequency rank #37,334, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌfalən]. ausgefallen is at rank #8,828, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌfalən].
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 46162, this pair ranks #1,328,472 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abgefallen vs ausgefallen
Shared letters: aefgln. Private to "abgefallen": b. Private to "ausgefallen": su.
"abgefallen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC · "ausgefallen" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abgefallen ← abbgefallen · abegfallen · abgeafllen · abgefaleln · abgefalen · abgefallenn · abgefallne · abgeffallen
- ausgefallen ← asugefallen · augsefallen · ausegfallen · ausgeafllen · ausgefaleln · ausgefalen · ausgefallenn · ausgefallne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abgefallen" for "ausgefallen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "abgefallen" or "ausgefallen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "abgefallen" and "ausgefallen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abgefallen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ausgefallen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,328,472 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abgefallen" and "ausgefallen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgefallen vs angefallen". 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 #1,328,472 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.