Which to use
“auffallen” and “ausfallen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,660
- “auffallen” frequency rank
- #7,011
- “ausfallen” frequency rank
- 19671
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | auffallen | ausfallen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Aufsehen erregen | nicht mehr zur Verfügung stehen |
Where the eye mixes auffallen and ausfallen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. auffallen and ausfallen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses auffallen with ausfallen
A purely visual mix-up. auffallen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌfalən]) and ausfallen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌfalən]) 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 “auffallen” becomes s in “ausfallen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19671, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
auffallen is recorded at frequency rank #12,660, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌfalən]. ausfallen is at rank #7,011, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌfalən].
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 19671, this pair ranks #1,905,863 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of auffallen vs ausfallen
Shared letters: aeflnu. Private to "auffallen": -. Private to "ausfallen": s.
"auffallen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC · "ausfallen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "auffallen" for "ausfallen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "auffallen" vs "ausfallen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "auffallen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ausfallen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,905,863 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "auffallen" and "ausfallen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "auffallen vs aufzufallen". 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 #1,905,863 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.