anbauenvsausbauenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#26,742
“anbauen” frequency rank
#9,681
“ausbauen” frequency rank
36423
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature anbauen ausbauen
Definition (etwas, ein zusätzliches Gebäudeteil) einem Gebäude hinzufügen ein Teil aus einer Maschine, einer technischen Anlage herausnehmen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set anbauen and ausbauen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
anbauen
8 ch
ausbauen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. anbauen ([ˈanˌbaʊ̯ən]) and ausbauen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌbaʊ̯ən]) 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 36423, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

anbauen is recorded at frequency rank #26,742, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌbaʊ̯ən]. ausbauen is at rank #9,681, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌbaʊ̯ən].

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 36423, this pair ranks #1,615,975 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of anbauen vs ausbauen

Shared letters: abenu. Private to "anbauen": -. Private to "ausbauen": s.

"anbauen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVVC  ·  "ausbauen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • anbauenabnauen · anabuen · anbaeun · anbauenn · anbaune · anbbauen · anbuaen · annbauen
  • ausbauenasubauen · aubsauen · ausabuen · ausbaeun · ausbauenn · ausbaune · ausbbauen · ausbuaen

Frequency comparison

anbauen#26,742
ausbauen#9,681

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "anbauen" and "ausbauen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanˌbaʊ̯ən] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌbaʊ̯ən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "anbauen" or "ausbauen"?
"ausbauen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,681 in our German list, against #26,742 for "anbauen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering anbauen vs ausbauen

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 “anbauen” 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