AusbreitungvsAusweitungWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,813
“Ausbreitung” frequency rank
#11,814
“Ausweitung” frequency rank
23627
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ausbreitung Ausweitung
Definition das Sichausbreiten oder das Ausbreiten von etwas Erweiterung, Vergrößerung

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Ausbreitung and Ausweitung apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
Ausbreitung
10 ch
Ausweitung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Ausbreitung ([ˈaʊ̯sˌbʁaɪ̯tʊŋ]) and Ausweitung ([ˈaʊ̯svaɪ̯tʊŋ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23627, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ausbreitung is recorded at frequency rank #11,813, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌbʁaɪ̯tʊŋ]. Ausweitung is at rank #11,814, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯svaɪ̯tʊŋ].

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 23627, this pair ranks #1,858,760 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Ausbreitung vs Ausweitung

Shared letters: aeginstu. Private to "Ausbreitung": br. Private to "Ausweitung": w.

"Ausbreitung" · 11 letters · shape VVCCCVVCVCC  ·  "Ausweitung" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Ausbreitungasubreitung · aubsreitung · ausbbreitung · ausberitung · ausbreitnug · ausbreittung · ausbreitugn · ausbreitungg
  • Ausweitungasuweitung · ausewitung · aussweitung · ausweitnug · ausweittung · ausweitugn · ausweitungg · ausweitunng

Frequency comparison

Ausbreitung#11,813
Ausweitung#11,814

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Ausbreitung" and "Ausweitung" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌbʁaɪ̯tʊŋ] versus [ˈaʊ̯svaɪ̯tʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Ausbreitung" or "Ausweitung"?
"Ausbreitung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,813 in our German list, against #11,814 for "Ausweitung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Ausbreitung vs Ausweitung

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 “Ausbreitung” 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