aufgehenvsausgebenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,355
“aufgehen” frequency rank
#6,154
“ausgeben” frequency rank
22509
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufgehen ausgeben
Definition sich öffnen Zahlungsmittel für etwas verbrauchen, abgeben, eintauschen

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
aufgehen
8 ch
ausgeben

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. aufgehen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌɡeːən]) and ausgeben ([ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːbn̩]) 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 22509, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aufgehen is recorded at frequency rank #16,355, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌɡeːən]. ausgeben is at rank #6,154, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːbn̩].

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 22509, this pair ranks #1,873,319 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of aufgehen vs ausgeben

Shared letters: aegnu. Private to "aufgehen": fh. Private to "ausgeben": bs.

"aufgehen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC  ·  "ausgeben" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aufgehenafugehen · aufeghen · auffgehen · aufgeehn · aufgehenn · aufgehhen · aufgehne · aufggehen
  • ausgebenasugeben · augseben · ausegben · ausgbeen · ausgebben · ausgebenn · ausgebne · ausgeebn

Frequency comparison

aufgehen#16,355
ausgeben#6,154

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aufgehen" and "ausgeben" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fˌɡeːən] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aufgehen" or "ausgeben"?
"ausgeben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,154 in our German list, against #16,355 for "aufgehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering aufgehen vs ausgeben

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 “aufgehen” 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