Which to use
“ausdehnen” and “ausgehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,481
- “ausdehnen” frequency rank
- #3,297
- “ausgehen” frequency rank
- 32778
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ausdehnen | ausgehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Länge, Fläche oder das Volumen einer Sache vergrößern | das Haus verlassen; nach draußen gehen, um etwas zu tun |
Where the eye mixes ausdehnen and ausgehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. ausdehnen runs 9 letters (VVCCVCCVC) against ausgehen's 8 (VVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ausdehnen with ausgehen
A purely visual mix-up. ausdehnen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌdeːnən]) and ausgehen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːən]) 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 32778, 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]. ausgehen is at rank #3,297, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːən].
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 32778, this pair ranks #1,700,236 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ausdehnen vs ausgehen
Shared letters: aehnsu. Private to "ausdehnen": d. Private to "ausgehen": g.
"ausdehnen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC · "ausgehen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ausdehnen" and "ausgehen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "ausdehnen" vs "ausgehen" - which ranks higher?
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 "ausdehnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ausgehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,700,236 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ausdehnen" and "ausgehen" 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 #1,700,236 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.