ausgebenvsausübenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,154
“ausgeben” frequency rank
#7,283
“ausüben” frequency rank
13437
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausgeben ausüben
Definition Zahlungsmittel für etwas verbrauchen, abgeben, eintauschen etwas vollstrecken, vollführen, etwas zur Wirkung bringen

Where the eye mixes ausgeben and ausüben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ausgeben runs 8 letters (VVCCVCVC) against ausüben's 7 (VVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
ausgeben
7 ch
ausüben

Look-alike desk: ausgeben vs ausüben

A purely visual mix-up. ausgeben ([ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːbn̩]) and ausüben ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʔyːbn̩]) 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 13437, 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]. ausüben is at rank #7,283, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʔyːbn̩].

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 13437, this pair ranks #1,958,012 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ausgeben vs ausüben

Shared letters: abensu. Private to "ausgeben": g. Private to "ausüben": ü.

"ausgeben" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC  ·  "ausüben" · 7 letters · shape VVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausgeben ← asugeben · augseben · ausegben · ausgbeen · ausgebben · ausgebenn · ausgebne · ausgeebn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ausgeben" and "ausüben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːbn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌʔyːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ausgeben" vs "ausüben" - which ranks higher?
"ausgeben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,154 in our German list, against #7,283 for "ausüben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ausgeben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ausüben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,958,012 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ausgeben" and "ausüben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausgeben vs ausgraben". 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 #1,958,012 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