Which to use
“ausmachen” and “ausmalen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,393
- “ausmachen” frequency rank
- #26,311
- “ausmalen” frequency rank
- 32704
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ausmachen | ausmalen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Gerät (Lampe, Heizung, Elektrogerät etc.) abschalten, ein Feuer löschen | einen Innenraum kolorieren |
Where the eye mixes ausmachen and ausmalen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. ausmachen runs 9 letters (VVCCVCCVC) against ausmalen's 8 (VVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between ausmachen and ausmalen
A purely visual mix-up. ausmachen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌmaxn̩]) and ausmalen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌmaːlən]) 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 32704, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ausmachen is recorded at frequency rank #6,393, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌmaxn̩]. ausmalen is at rank #26,311, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌmaːlən].
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 32704, this pair ranks #1,701,837 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ausmachen vs ausmalen
Shared letters: aemnsu. Private to "ausmachen": ch. Private to "ausmalen": l.
"ausmachen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC · "ausmalen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ausmachen" and "ausmalen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "ausmachen" vs "ausmalen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ausmachen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ausmalen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,701,837 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ausmachen" and "ausmalen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausbaden vs ausmalen". 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 #1,701,837 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.