Which to use
“ausdehnen” is a verb and “Ausdehnung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,481
- “ausdehnen” frequency rank
- #11,379
- “Ausdehnung” frequency rank
- 40860
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ausdehnen | Ausdehnung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Länge, Fläche oder das Volumen einer Sache vergrößern | Volumen, das ein Körper oder Objekt einnimmt, Bereich, in dem sich etwas erstreckt |
Where the eye mixes ausdehnen and Ausdehnung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. ausdehnen runs 9 letters (VVCCVCCVC) against Ausdehnung's 10 (VVCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ausdehnen with Ausdehnung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ausdehnen is [ˈaʊ̯sˌdeːnən] while Ausdehnung is [ˈaʊ̯sˌdeːnʊŋ]. 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 40860, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ausdehnen is recorded at frequency rank #29,481, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌdeːnən]. Ausdehnung is at rank #11,379, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌdeːnʊŋ].
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 40860, this pair ranks #1,496,230 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ausdehnen vs Ausdehnung
Shared letters: adehnsu. Private to "ausdehnen": -. Private to "Ausdehnung": g.
"ausdehnen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC · "Ausdehnung" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ausdehnen ← asudehnen · audsehnen · ausddehnen · ausdehenn · ausdehhnen · ausdehnenn · ausdehnne · ausdehnnen
- Ausdehnung ← asudehnung · audsehnung · ausddehnung · ausdehhnung · ausdehnnug · ausdehnnung · ausdehnugn · ausdehnungg
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ausdehnen" and "Ausdehnung" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ausdehnen" or "Ausdehnung"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ausdehnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ausdehnung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,496,230 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ausdehnen" and "Ausdehnung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausdehnen vs auszudehnen". 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 #1,496,230 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.