ausgehenvsausnehmenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,297
“ausgehen” frequency rank
#34,527
“ausnehmen” frequency rank
37824
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausgehen ausnehmen
Definition das Haus verlassen; nach draußen gehen, um etwas zu tun Eingeweide eines getöteten Tieres entfernen

Where the eye mixes ausgehen and ausnehmen

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

8 ch
ausgehen
9 ch
ausnehmen

Why the eye confuses ausgehen with ausnehmen

A purely visual mix-up. ausgehen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːən]) and ausnehmen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌneːmən]) 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 37824, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ausgehen is recorded at frequency rank #3,297, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːən]. ausnehmen is at rank #34,527, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌneːmən].

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 37824, this pair ranks #1,580,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ausgehen vs ausnehmen

Shared letters: aehnsu. Private to "ausgehen": g. Private to "ausnehmen": m.

"ausgehen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC  ·  "ausnehmen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausgehen ← asugehen · augsehen · auseghen · ausgeehn · ausgehenn · ausgehhen · ausgehne · ausggehen
  • ausnehmen ← asunehmen · aunsehmen · ausenhmen · ausnehemn · ausnehhmen · ausnehmenn · ausnehmmen · ausnehmne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ausgehen" and "ausnehmen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːən] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌneːmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ausgehen" vs "ausnehmen" - which ranks higher?
"ausgehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,297 in our German list, against #34,527 for "ausnehmen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "ausgehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ausnehmen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,580,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ausgehen" and "ausnehmen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausdehnen vs ausnehmen". 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 #1,580,133 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