Which to use
“aufbauen” and “ausbauen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,677
- “aufbauen” frequency rank
- #9,681
- “ausbauen” frequency rank
- 14358
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aufbauen | ausbauen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine bauliche Anlage errichten | ein Teil aus einer Maschine, einer technischen Anlage herausnehmen |
Where the eye mixes aufbauen and ausbauen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. aufbauen and ausbauen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses aufbauen with ausbauen
A purely visual mix-up. aufbauen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌbaʊ̯ən]) 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 a single letter - f in “aufbauen” becomes s in “ausbauen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14358, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aufbauen is recorded at frequency rank #4,677, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌbaʊ̯ən]. 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 14358, this pair ranks #1,951,752 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of aufbauen vs ausbauen
Shared letters: abenu. Private to "aufbauen": f. Private to "ausbauen": s.
"aufbauen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVVVC · "ausbauen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aufbauen" for "ausbauen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "aufbauen" or "ausbauen"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "aufbauen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ausbauen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,951,752 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aufbauen" and "ausbauen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausbaden vs ausbauen". 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 #1,951,752 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.