ausgebenvsauslegenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,154
“ausgeben” frequency rank
#22,261
“auslegen” frequency rank
28415
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausgeben auslegen
Definition Zahlungsmittel für etwas verbrauchen, abgeben, eintauschen eine Fläche mehr oder weniger lückenlos mit flächigen Teilen bedecken

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ausgeben and auslegen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
ausgeben
8 ch
auslegen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ausgeben ([ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːbn̩]) and auslegen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌleːɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28415, 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]. auslegen is at rank #22,261, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌleːɡn̩].

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 28415, this pair ranks #1,785,185 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ausgeben vs auslegen

Shared letters: aegnsu. Private to "ausgeben": b. Private to "auslegen": l.

"ausgeben" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC  ·  "auslegen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausgebenasugeben · augseben · ausegben · ausgbeen · ausgebben · ausgebenn · ausgebne · ausgeebn
  • auslegenasulegen · aulsegen · auselgen · ausleegn · auslegenn · ausleggen · auslegne · auslgeen

Frequency comparison

ausgeben#6,154
auslegen#22,261

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ausgeben" and "auslegen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːbn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌleːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ausgeben" or "auslegen"?
"ausgeben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,154 in our German list, against #22,261 for "auslegen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ausgeben vs auslegen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ausgeben” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list