Which to use
“Ausfall” and “Ausfälle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,169
- “Ausfall” frequency rank
- #15,303
- “Ausfälle” frequency rank
- 23472
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ausfall | Ausfälle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Versagen oder Verlust eines Systems oder eines seiner Teile | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Ausfall |
Where the eye mixes Ausfall and Ausfälle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Ausfall runs 7 letters (VVCCVCC) against Ausfälle's 8 (VVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Ausfall with Ausfälle
A purely visual mix-up. Ausfall ([ˈaʊ̯sfal]) and Ausfälle ([ˈaʊ̯sfɛlə]) 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 23472, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Ausfall is recorded at frequency rank #8,169, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sfal]. Ausfälle is at rank #15,303, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sfɛlə].
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 23472, this pair ranks #1,860,881 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Ausfall vs Ausfälle
Shared letters: aflsu. Private to "Ausfall": -. Private to "Ausfälle": eä.
"Ausfall" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVCC · "Ausfälle" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Ausfall ← asufall · aufsall · ausafll · ausfal · ausffall · ausflal · aussfall · uasfall
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Ausfall" for "Ausfälle" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Ausfall" or "Ausfälle" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Ausfall" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ausfälle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,860,881 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Ausfall" and "Ausfälle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ausfälle vs ausfüllt". 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 #1,860,881 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.