auslebenvsausübenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#16,357
“ausleben” frequency rank
#7,283
“ausüben” frequency rank
23640
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausleben ausüben
Definition eine Absicht in die Tat umsetzen und längere Zeit verwirklichen etwas vollstrecken, vollführen, etwas zur Wirkung bringen

Where the eye mixes ausleben and ausüben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ausleben runs 8 letters (VVCCVCVC) against ausüben's 7 (VVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
ausleben
7 ch
ausüben

Visual trap between ausleben and ausüben

A purely visual mix-up. ausleben ([ˈaʊ̯sˌleːbn̩]) and ausüben ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʔyːbn̩]) 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 23640, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ausleben is recorded at frequency rank #16,357, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌleːbn̩]. ausüben is at rank #7,283, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʔyːbn̩].

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 23640, this pair ranks #1,858,598 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ausleben vs ausüben

Shared letters: abensu. Private to "ausleben": l. Private to "ausüben": ü.

"ausleben" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC  ·  "ausüben" · 7 letters · shape VVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausleben ← asuleben · aulseben · auselben · auslbeen · auslebben · auslebenn · auslebne · ausleebn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ausleben" and "ausüben" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌleːbn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌʔyːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "ausleben" or "ausüben" show up more?
"ausüben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,283 in our German list, against #16,357 for "ausleben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ausleben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ausüben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,858,598 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ausleben" and "ausüben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausleben vs auszuleben". 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 #1,858,598 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