Which to use
“ausgebauten” is an adjective and “ausgelaufen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,439
- “ausgebauten” frequency rank
- #31,441
- “ausgelaufen” frequency rank
- 62880
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ausgebauten | ausgelaufen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs ausgebaut | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs auslaufen |
Where the eye mixes ausgebauten and ausgelaufen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. ausgebauten and ausgelaufen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses ausgebauten with ausgelaufen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ausgebauten is [ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌbaʊ̯tn̩] while ausgelaufen is [ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌlaʊ̯fn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62880, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ausgebauten is recorded at frequency rank #31,439, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌbaʊ̯tn̩]. ausgelaufen is at rank #31,441, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌlaʊ̯fn̩].
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 62880, this pair ranks #696,798 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ausgebauten vs ausgelaufen
Shared letters: aegnsu. Private to "ausgebauten": bt. Private to "ausgelaufen": fl.
"ausgebauten" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVVCVC · "ausgelaufen" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ausgebauten ← asugebauten · augsebauten · ausegbauten · ausgbeauten · ausgeabuten · ausgebatuen · ausgebauetn · ausgebautenn
- ausgelaufen ← asugelaufen · augselaufen · auseglaufen · ausgealufen · ausgelafuen · ausgelauefn · ausgelaufenn · ausgelauffen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ausgebauten" for "ausgelaufen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ausgebauten" vs "ausgelaufen" - which ranks higher?
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 "ausgebauten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ausgelaufen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #696,798 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ausgebauten" and "ausgelaufen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausgebaute vs ausgebauten". 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 #696,798 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.