AnbauvsAusbauWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,501
“Anbau” frequency rank
#3,170
“Ausbau” frequency rank
9671
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Anbau Ausbau
Definition Kultivierung von Nutz- oder Zierpflanzen planmäßige Vergrößerung, Erweiterung von etwas Bestehendem

Where the eye mixes Anbau and Ausbau

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Anbau runs 5 letters (VCCVV) against Ausbau's 6 (VVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Anbau
6 ch
Ausbau

Why the eye confuses Anbau with Ausbau

A purely visual mix-up. Anbau ([ˈanˌbaʊ̯]) and Ausbau ([ˈaʊ̯sˌbaʊ̯]) 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 9671, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Anbau is recorded at frequency rank #6,501, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌbaʊ̯]. Ausbau is at rank #3,170, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌbaʊ̯].

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 9671, this pair ranks #1,978,849 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Anbau vs Ausbau

Shared letters: abu. Private to "Anbau": n. Private to "Ausbau": s.

"Anbau" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV  ·  "Ausbau" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Anbau ← abnau · anabu · anbbau · anbua · annbau · nabau
  • Ausbau ← asubau · aubsau · ausabu · ausbbau · ausbua · aussbau · uasbau

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Anbau" and "Ausbau" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanˌbaʊ̯] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌbaʊ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Anbau" vs "Ausbau" - which ranks higher?
"Ausbau" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,170 in our German list, against #6,501 for "Anbau". 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 "Anbau" and "Ausbau" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Anbau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ausbau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,978,849 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Anbau" and "Ausbau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Anbau vs angab". 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 #1,978,849 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