ausgrabenvsaustragenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,044
“ausgraben” frequency rank
#21,172
“austragen” frequency rank
62216
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausgraben austragen
Definition mit einem Werkzeug (wie Schaufel oder dergleichen) oder mit den Händen aus dem Erdreich holen etwas verschiedenen Empfängern zubringen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ausgraben and austragen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
ausgraben
9 ch
austragen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ausgraben ([ˈaʊ̯sˌɡʁaːbn̩]) and austragen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaːɡn̩]) 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 62216, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ausgraben is recorded at frequency rank #41,044, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌɡʁaːbn̩]. austragen is at rank #21,172, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaːɡn̩].

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 62216, this pair ranks #721,048 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ausgraben vs austragen

Shared letters: aegnrsu. Private to "ausgraben": b. Private to "austragen": t.

"ausgraben" · 9 letters · shape VVCCCVCVC  ·  "austragen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausgrabenasugraben · augsraben · ausgarben · ausggraben · ausgrabben · ausgrabenn · ausgrabne · ausgraebn
  • austragenasutragen · ausrtagen · ausstragen · austargen · austraegn · austragenn · austraggen · austragne

Frequency comparison

ausgraben#41,044
austragen#21,172

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ausgraben" and "austragen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌɡʁaːbn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ausgraben" or "austragen"?
"austragen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,172 in our German list, against #41,044 for "ausgraben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ausgraben vs austragen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ausgraben” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list