ausgefahrenvsausgefallenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#47,967
“ausgefahren” frequency rank
#8,828
“ausgefallen” frequency rank
56795
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausgefahren ausgefallen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ausfahren Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ausfallen

Where the eye mixes ausgefahren and ausgefallen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. ausgefahren and ausgefallen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

11 ch
ausgefahren
11 ch
ausgefallen

Look-alike desk: ausgefahren vs ausgefallen

A purely visual mix-up. ausgefahren ([ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌfaːʁən]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56795, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ausgefahren is recorded at frequency rank #47,967, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌfaːʁən]. 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 56795, this pair ranks #926,310 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ausgefahren vs ausgefallen

Shared letters: aefgnsu. Private to "ausgefahren": hr. Private to "ausgefallen": l.

"ausgefahren" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC  ·  "ausgefallen" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausgefahren ← asugefahren · augsefahren · ausegfahren · ausgeafhren · ausgefahern · ausgefahhren · ausgefahrenn · ausgefahrne
  • ausgefallen ← asugefallen · augsefallen · ausegfallen · ausgeafllen · ausgefaleln · ausgefalen · ausgefallenn · ausgefallne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ausgefahren" and "ausgefallen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌfaːʁən] versus [ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌfalən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ausgefahren" or "ausgefallen"?
"ausgefallen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,828 in our German list, against #47,967 for "ausgefahren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ausgefahren" 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 #926,310 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ausgefahren" and "ausgefallen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausfahren vs ausgefahren". 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 #926,310 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