Which to use
“aufgeben” and “ausgehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,249
- “aufgeben” frequency rank
- #3,297
- “ausgehen” frequency rank
- 7546
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aufgeben | ausgehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas Sinnloses beenden, aufhören, einstellen; etwas beenden, obwohl der Sinn im Weitermachen besteht | das Haus verlassen; nach draußen gehen, um etwas zu tun |
Where the eye mixes aufgeben and ausgehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: aufgeben vs ausgehen
A purely visual mix-up. aufgeben ([ˈaʊ̯fˌɡeːbn̩]) and ausgehen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7546, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aufgeben is recorded at frequency rank #4,249, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌɡeːbn̩]. ausgehen is at rank #3,297, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːən].
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 7546, this pair ranks #1,987,759 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of aufgeben vs ausgehen
Shared letters: aegnu. Private to "aufgeben": bf. Private to "ausgehen": hs.
"aufgeben" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC · "ausgehen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aufgeben" for "ausgehen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "aufgeben" vs "ausgehen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "aufgeben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ausgehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,987,759 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aufgeben" and "ausgehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausgehen vs aussehend". 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 #1,987,759 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.