ausbauenvsAuslagenTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#9,681
“ausbauen” frequency rank
#38,605
“Auslagen” frequency rank
48286
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausbauen Auslagen
Definition ein Teil aus einer Maschine, einer technischen Anlage herausnehmen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Auslage

Where the eye mixes ausbauen and Auslagen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ausbauen (VVCCVVVC) and Auslagen (VVCCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
ausbauen
8 ch
Auslagen

Why the eye confuses ausbauen with Auslagen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ausbauen is [ˈaʊ̯sˌbaʊ̯ən] while Auslagen is [ˈaʊ̯sˌlaːɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48286, 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]. Auslagen is at rank #38,605, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌlaːɡn̩].

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 48286, this pair ranks #1,254,143 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ausbauen vs Auslagen

Shared letters: aensu. Private to "ausbauen": b. Private to "Auslagen": gl.

"ausbauen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVVVC  ·  "Auslagen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausbauen ← asubauen · aubsauen · ausabuen · ausbaeun · ausbauenn · ausbaune · ausbbauen · ausbuaen
  • Auslagen ← asulagen · aulsagen · ausalgen · auslaegn · auslagenn · auslaggen · auslagne · auslgaen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ausbauen" for "Auslagen" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ausbauen" is a verb and "Auslagen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "ausbauen" or "Auslagen" show up more?
"ausbauen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,681 in our German list, against #38,605 for "Auslagen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ausbauen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Auslagen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,254,143 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ausbauen" and "Auslagen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausbaden vs Auslagen". 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 #1,254,143 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