auffielvsausfielConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#30,449
“auffiel” frequency rank
#28,534
“ausfiel” frequency rank
58983
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature auffiel ausfiel
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs auffallen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs ausfallen

Where the eye mixes auffiel and ausfiel

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. auffiel and ausfiel follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
auffiel
7 ch
ausfiel

Visual trap between auffiel and ausfiel

A purely visual mix-up. auffiel ([ˈaʊ̯fˌfiːl]) and ausfiel ([ˈaʊ̯sˌfiːl]) 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 “auffiel” becomes s in “ausfiel”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58983, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

auffiel is recorded at frequency rank #30,449, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌfiːl]. ausfiel is at rank #28,534, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌfiːl].

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 58983, this pair ranks #841,733 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of auffiel vs ausfiel

Shared letters: aefilu. Private to "auffiel": -. Private to "ausfiel": s.

"auffiel" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVVC  ·  "ausfiel" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • auffiel ← afufiel · auffeil · auffiell · auffile · aufiel · aufifel · uaffiel
  • ausfiel ← asufiel · aufsiel · ausfeil · ausffiel · ausfiell · ausfile · ausifel · aussfiel

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "auffiel" for "ausfiel" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fˌfiːl] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌfiːl]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "auffiel" vs "ausfiel" - which ranks higher?
"ausfiel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,534 in our German list, against #30,449 for "auffiel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "auffiel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ausfiel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #841,733 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "auffiel" and "ausfiel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "auffiel vs aufwies". 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 #841,733 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