AuslaufvsauslaufenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Auslauf is a noun, auslaufen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Auslauf” is a noun and “auslaufen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,076
“Auslauf” frequency rank
#17,226
“auslaufen” frequency rank
52302
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Auslauf auslaufen
Definition Bewegungsfreiheit für jemanden oder etwas als Flüssigkeit aus einer Öffnung austreten

Where the eye mixes Auslauf and auslaufen

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

7 ch
Auslauf
9 ch
auslaufen

Look-alike desk: Auslauf vs auslaufen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Auslauf is [aʊ̯slaʊ̯f] while auslaufen is [ˈaʊ̯sˌlaʊ̯fn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Auslauf” sits inside “auslaufen”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52302, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Auslauf is recorded at frequency rank #35,076, classified as anoun, pronounced [aʊ̯slaʊ̯f]. auslaufen is at rank #17,226, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌlaʊ̯fn̩].

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 52302, this pair ranks #1,102,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Auslauf vs auslaufen

Shared letters: aflsu. Private to "Auslauf": -. Private to "auslaufen": en.

"Auslauf" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVVC  ·  "auslaufen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Auslauf ← asulauf · aulsauf · ausaluf · auslafu · auslauff · ausllauf · ausluaf · ausslauf
  • auslaufen ← asulaufen · aulsaufen · ausalufen · auslafuen · auslauefn · auslaufenn · auslauffen · auslaufne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Auslauf" and "auslaufen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Auslauf" is a noun and "auslaufen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Auslauf" or "auslaufen" show up more?
"auslaufen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,226 in our German list, against #35,076 for "Auslauf". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Auslauf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "auslaufen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,102,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Auslauf" and "auslaufen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Auslauf vs Ausruf". 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 #1,102,081 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