AusgrabungvsAusprägungWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#44,463
“Ausgrabung” frequency rank
#15,822
“Ausprägung” frequency rank
60285
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ausgrabung Ausprägung
Definition die Stelle, an der Ruinen oder Fossilien freigelegt wurden Prozess der Prägung (von Münzen); Vorgang, bei dem auf Münzplatten bestimmte charakteristische Elemente oder Symbole mithilfe eines Prägewerkzeugs oder Stempels eingedrückt werden

Where the eye mixes Ausgrabung and Ausprägung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Ausgrabung and Ausprägung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCCVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

10 ch
Ausgrabung
10 ch
Ausprägung

Why the eye confuses Ausgrabung with Ausprägung

A purely visual mix-up. Ausgrabung ([ˈaʊ̯sˌɡʁaːbʊŋ]) and Ausprägung ([ˈaʊ̯sˌpʁɛːɡʊŋ]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60285, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ausgrabung is recorded at frequency rank #44,463, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌɡʁaːbʊŋ]. Ausprägung is at rank #15,822, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌpʁɛːɡʊŋ].

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 60285, this pair ranks #792,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Ausgrabung vs Ausprägung

Shared letters: agnrsu. Private to "Ausgrabung": b. Private to "Ausprägung": pä.

"Ausgrabung" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVCVCC  ·  "Ausprägung" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Ausgrabung ← asugrabung · augsrabung · ausgarbung · ausggrabung · ausgrabbung · ausgrabnug · ausgrabugn · ausgrabungg

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Ausgrabung" for "Ausprägung" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌɡʁaːbʊŋ] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌpʁɛːɡʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Ausgrabung" or "Ausprägung" show up more?
"Ausprägung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,822 in our German list, against #44,463 for "Ausgrabung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Ausgrabung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ausprägung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #792,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ausgrabung" and "Ausprägung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausgraben vs Ausgrabung". 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 #792,669 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