ausmachenvsauspackenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,393
“ausmachen” frequency rank
#16,640
“auspacken” frequency rank
23033
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausmachen auspacken
Definition ein Gerät (Lampe, Heizung, Elektrogerät etc.) abschalten, ein Feuer löschen etwas, das eingepackt ist, aus der Verpackung nehmen

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
ausmachen
9 ch
auspacken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ausmachen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌmaxn̩]) and auspacken ([ˈaʊ̯sˌpakn̩]) 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 23033, 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]. auspacken is at rank #16,640, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌpakn̩].

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 23033, this pair ranks #1,866,624 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ausmachen vs auspacken

Shared letters: acensu. Private to "ausmachen": hm. Private to "auspacken": kp.

"ausmachen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC  ·  "auspacken" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausmachenasumachen · aumsachen · ausamchen · ausmacchen · ausmacehn · ausmachenn · ausmachhen · ausmachne
  • auspackenasupacken · aupsacken · ausapcken · auspaccken · auspacekn · auspackenn · auspackken · auspackne

Frequency comparison

ausmachen#6,393
auspacken#16,640

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ausmachen" and "auspacken" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌmaxn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌpakn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ausmachen" or "auspacken"?
"ausmachen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,393 in our German list, against #16,640 for "auspacken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ausmachen vs auspacken

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 “ausmachen” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list