ausfallenvsausgefallenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,011
“ausfallen” frequency rank
#8,828
“ausgefallen” frequency rank
15839
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausfallen ausgefallen
Definition nicht mehr zur Verfügung stehen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ausfallen

Where the eye mixes ausfallen and ausgefallen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. ausfallen runs 9 letters (VVCCVCCVC) against ausgefallen's 11 (VVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
ausfallen
11 ch
ausgefallen

Visual trap between ausfallen and ausgefallen

A purely visual mix-up. ausfallen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌfalən]) and ausgefallen ([ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌfalən]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15839, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ausfallen is recorded at frequency rank #7,011, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌfalən]. ausgefallen is at rank #8,828, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌfalən].

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 15839, this pair ranks #1,940,742 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ausfallen vs ausgefallen

Shared letters: aeflnsu. Private to "ausfallen": -. Private to "ausgefallen": g.

"ausfallen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC  ·  "ausgefallen" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausfallen ← asufallen · aufsallen · ausafllen · ausfaleln · ausfalen · ausfallenn · ausfallne · ausffallen
  • ausgefallen ← asugefallen · augsefallen · ausegfallen · ausgeafllen · ausgefaleln · ausgefalen · ausgefallenn · ausgefallne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ausfallen" for "ausgefallen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌfalən] versus [ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌfalən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ausfallen" or "ausgefallen"?
"ausfallen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,011 in our German list, against #8,828 for "ausgefallen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ausfallen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ausgefallen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,940,742 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ausfallen" and "ausgefallen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausgefahren vs ausgefallen". 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 #1,940,742 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list