ausgespartvsausgesperrtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#47,228
“ausgespart” frequency rank
#40,398
“ausgesperrt” frequency rank
87626
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausgespart ausgesperrt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs aussparen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs aussperren

Where the eye mixes ausgespart and ausgesperrt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. ausgespart runs 10 letters (VVCCVCCVCC) against ausgesperrt's 11 (VVCCVCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
ausgespart
11 ch
ausgesperrt

Why the eye confuses ausgespart with ausgesperrt

A purely visual mix-up. ausgespart ([ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌʃpaːɐ̯t]) and ausgesperrt ([ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌʃpɛʁt]) 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 87626, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ausgespart is recorded at frequency rank #47,228, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌʃpaːɐ̯t]. ausgesperrt is at rank #40,398, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌʃpɛʁt].

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 87626, this pair ranks #77,967 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ausgespart vs ausgesperrt

Shared letters: aegprstu. Private to "ausgespart": -. Private to "ausgesperrt": -.

"ausgespart" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCC  ·  "ausgesperrt" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausgespart ← asugespart · augsespart · ausegspart · ausgepsart · ausgesaprt · ausgesparrt · ausgespartt · ausgespatr
  • ausgesperrt ← asugesperrt · augsesperrt · ausegsperrt · ausgepserrt · ausgeseprrt · ausgesperrtt · ausgespert · ausgespertr

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ausgespart" for "ausgesperrt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌʃpaːɐ̯t] versus [ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌʃpɛʁt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ausgespart" or "ausgesperrt"?
"ausgesperrt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,398 in our German list, against #47,228 for "ausgespart". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "ausgespart" and "ausgesperrt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ausgespart" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ausgesperrt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #77,967 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ausgespart" and "ausgesperrt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufgespürt vs ausgespart". 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 #77,967 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