Which to use
“ausmalen” and “aussahen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,311
- “ausmalen” frequency rank
- #31,944
- “aussahen” frequency rank
- 58255
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ausmalen | aussahen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen Innenraum kolorieren | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs aussehen |
Where the eye mixes ausmalen and aussahen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ausmalen and aussahen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses ausmalen with aussahen
A purely visual mix-up. ausmalen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌmaːlən]) and aussahen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌzaːən]) 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 58255, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ausmalen is recorded at frequency rank #26,311, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌmaːlən]. aussahen is at rank #31,944, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌzaːən].
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 58255, this pair ranks #869,879 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ausmalen vs aussahen
Shared letters: aensu. Private to "ausmalen": lm. Private to "aussahen": h.
"ausmalen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC · "aussahen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ausmalen" for "aussahen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ausmalen" vs "aussahen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ausmalen" and "aussahen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ausmalen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aussahen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #869,879 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ausmalen" and "aussahen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aussahen vs aussehend". 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 #869,879 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.