ausbauenvsAusbausConfusable pair

Quick tell: ausbauen is a verb, Ausbaus is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ausbauen” is a verb and “Ausbaus” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,681
“ausbauen” frequency rank
#37,369
“Ausbaus” frequency rank
47050
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausbauen Ausbaus
Definition ein Teil aus einer Maschine, einer technischen Anlage herausnehmen Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Ausbau

Where the eye mixes ausbauen and Ausbaus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ausbauen runs 8 letters (VVCCVVVC) against Ausbaus's 7 (VVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
ausbauen
7 ch
Ausbaus

Visual trap between ausbauen and Ausbaus

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ausbauen is [ˈaʊ̯sˌbaʊ̯ən] while Ausbaus is [ˈaʊ̯sˌbaʊ̯s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47050, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ausbauen is recorded at frequency rank #9,681, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌbaʊ̯ən]. Ausbaus is at rank #37,369, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌbaʊ̯s].

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 47050, this pair ranks #1,297,888 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ausbauen vs Ausbaus

Shared letters: absu. Private to "ausbauen": en. Private to "Ausbaus": -.

"ausbauen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVVVC  ·  "Ausbaus" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausbauen ← asubauen · aubsauen · ausabuen · ausbaeun · ausbauenn · ausbaune · ausbbauen · ausbuaen
  • Ausbaus ← asubaus · aubsaus · ausabus · ausbasu · ausbauss · ausbbaus · ausbuas · aussbaus

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ausbauen" and "Ausbaus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ausbauen" is a verb and "Ausbaus" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "ausbauen" vs "Ausbaus" - which ranks higher?
"ausbauen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,681 in our German list, against #37,369 for "Ausbaus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ausbauen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ausbaus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,297,888 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ausbauen" and "Ausbaus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ausbaus vs Auslauf". 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 #1,297,888 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