ausgebenvsausgrabenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,154
“ausgeben” frequency rank
#41,044
“ausgraben” frequency rank
47198
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausgeben ausgraben
Definition Zahlungsmittel für etwas verbrauchen, abgeben, eintauschen mit einem Werkzeug (wie Schaufel oder dergleichen) oder mit den Händen aus dem Erdreich holen

Where the eye mixes ausgeben and ausgraben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. ausgeben runs 8 letters (VVCCVCVC) against ausgraben's 9 (VVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
ausgeben
9 ch
ausgraben

Look-alike desk: ausgeben vs ausgraben

A purely visual mix-up. ausgeben ([ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːbn̩]) and ausgraben ([ˈaʊ̯sˌɡʁaːbn̩]) 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 47198, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ausgeben is recorded at frequency rank #6,154, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːbn̩]. ausgraben is at rank #41,044, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌɡʁaːbn̩].

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 47198, this pair ranks #1,292,847 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ausgeben vs ausgraben

Shared letters: abegnsu. Private to "ausgeben": -. Private to "ausgraben": r.

"ausgeben" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC  ·  "ausgraben" · 9 letters · shape VVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausgeben ← asugeben · augseben · ausegben · ausgbeen · ausgebben · ausgebenn · ausgebne · ausgeebn
  • ausgraben ← asugraben · augsraben · ausgarben · ausggraben · ausgrabben · ausgrabenn · ausgrabne · ausgraebn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ausgeben" for "ausgraben" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːbn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌɡʁaːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ausgeben" vs "ausgraben" - which ranks higher?
"ausgeben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,154 in our German list, against #41,044 for "ausgraben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ausgeben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ausgraben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,292,847 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ausgeben" and "ausgraben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausgraben vs Ausgrabung". 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 #1,292,847 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