ausleihenvsausweitenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,561
“ausleihen” frequency rank
#24,626
“ausweiten” frequency rank
40187
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausleihen ausweiten
Definition jemand(em) etwas borgen etwas durch Benutzung dehnen und somit dauerhaft weiter machen

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
ausleihen
9 ch
ausweiten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ausleihen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌlaɪ̯ən]) and ausweiten ([ˈaʊ̯sˌvaɪ̯tn̩]) 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 40187, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ausleihen is recorded at frequency rank #15,561, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌlaɪ̯ən]. ausweiten is at rank #24,626, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌvaɪ̯tn̩].

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 40187, this pair ranks #1,515,650 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ausleihen vs ausweiten

Shared letters: aeinsu. Private to "ausleihen": hl. Private to "ausweiten": tw.

"ausleihen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVVCVC  ·  "ausweiten" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausleihenasuleihen · aulseihen · auselihen · auslehien · ausleiehn · ausleihenn · ausleihhen · ausleihne
  • ausweitenasuweiten · ausewiten · aussweiten · ausweietn · ausweitenn · ausweitne · ausweitten · auswetien

Frequency comparison

ausleihen#15,561
ausweiten#24,626

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ausleihen" and "ausweiten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌlaɪ̯ən] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌvaɪ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ausleihen" or "ausweiten"?
"ausleihen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,561 in our German list, against #24,626 for "ausweiten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ausleihen vs ausweiten

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 “ausleihen” 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