Which to use
“ausgehen” and “aussahen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,297
- “ausgehen” frequency rank
- #31,944
- “aussahen” frequency rank
- 35241
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ausgehen | aussahen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | das Haus verlassen; nach draußen gehen, um etwas zu tun | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs aussehen |
Where the eye mixes ausgehen and aussahen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ausgehen and aussahen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses ausgehen with aussahen
A purely visual mix-up. ausgehen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌɡeːən]) and aussahen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌzaːən]) 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 35241, 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]. aussahen is at rank #31,944, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌzaːən].
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 35241, this pair ranks #1,644,602 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ausgehen vs aussahen
Shared letters: aehnsu. Private to "ausgehen": g. Private to "aussahen": -.
"ausgehen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC · "aussahen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ausgehen" and "aussahen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "ausgehen" or "aussahen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ausgehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aussahen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,644,602 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ausgehen" and "aussahen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aussahen vs aussehend". 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 #1,644,602 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.