Which to use
“ausbleiben” and “austreiben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,633
- “ausbleiben” frequency rank
- #46,490
- “austreiben” frequency rank
- 74123
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ausbleiben | austreiben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | entgegen der Erwartung nicht eintreffen | Weidevieh auf die Weide treiben |
Where the eye mixes ausbleiben and austreiben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. ausbleiben and austreiben follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses ausbleiben with austreiben
A purely visual mix-up. ausbleiben ([ˈaʊ̯sˌblaɪ̯bn̩]) and austreiben ([ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]) 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 74123, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ausbleiben is recorded at frequency rank #27,633, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌblaɪ̯bn̩]. austreiben is at rank #46,490, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩].
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 74123, this pair ranks #341,819 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ausbleiben vs austreiben
Shared letters: abeinsu. Private to "ausbleiben": l. Private to "austreiben": rt.
"ausbleiben" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVVCVC · "austreiben" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ausbleiben ← asubleiben · aubsleiben · ausbbleiben · ausbeliben · ausblebien · ausbleibben · ausbleibenn · ausbleibne
- austreiben ← asutreiben · ausrteiben · ausstreiben · austeriben · austrebien · austreibben · austreibenn · austreibne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ausbleiben" and "austreiben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "ausbleiben" or "austreiben" show up more?
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 "ausbleiben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "austreiben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #341,819 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ausbleiben" and "austreiben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abtreiben vs austreiben". 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 #341,819 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.