Which to use
“auslaufen” is a verb and “Ausläufer” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,226
- “auslaufen” frequency rank
- #27,638
- “Ausläufer” frequency rank
- 44864
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | auslaufen | Ausläufer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | als Flüssigkeit aus einer Öffnung austreten | endender, auslaufender Teil, zum Beispiel eines Gebirges oder Hochdruckgebiets |
Where the eye mixes auslaufen and Ausläufer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. auslaufen and Ausläufer follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between auslaufen and Ausläufer
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: auslaufen is [ˈaʊ̯sˌlaʊ̯fn̩] while Ausläufer is [ˈaʊ̯sˌlɔɪ̯fɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44864, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
auslaufen is recorded at frequency rank #17,226, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌlaʊ̯fn̩]. Ausläufer is at rank #27,638, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌlɔɪ̯fɐ].
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 44864, this pair ranks #1,372,211 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of auslaufen vs Ausläufer
Shared letters: aeflsu. Private to "auslaufen": n. Private to "Ausläufer": rä.
"auslaufen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVVCVC · "Ausläufer" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- auslaufen ← asulaufen · aulsaufen · ausalufen · auslafuen · auslauefn · auslaufenn · auslauffen · auslaufne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "auslaufen" for "Ausläufer" ever safe?
Which is more common, "auslaufen" or "Ausläufer"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "auslaufen" and "Ausläufer" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "auslaufen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ausläufer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,372,211 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "auslaufen" and "Ausläufer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Auslauf vs Ausläufer". 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 #1,372,211 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.