AusrüstungvsAusrüstungenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#5,248
“Ausrüstung” frequency rank
#46,486
“Ausrüstungen” frequency rank
51734
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ausrüstung Ausrüstungen
Definition Kleidung mit funktionellem Charakter Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Ausrüstung

Where the eye mixes Ausrüstung and Ausrüstungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. Ausrüstung runs 10 letters (VVCCVCCVCC) against Ausrüstungen's 12 (VVCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
Ausrüstung
12 ch
Ausrüstungen

Why the eye confuses Ausrüstung with Ausrüstungen

A purely visual mix-up. Ausrüstung ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʁʏstʊŋ]) and Ausrüstungen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʁʏstʊŋən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Ausrüstung” sits inside “Ausrüstungen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51734, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ausrüstung is recorded at frequency rank #5,248, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʁʏstʊŋ]. Ausrüstungen is at rank #46,486, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʁʏstʊŋən].

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 51734, this pair ranks #1,124,085 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Ausrüstung vs Ausrüstungen

Shared letters: agnrstuü. Private to "Ausrüstung": -. Private to "Ausrüstungen": e.

"Ausrüstung" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCC  ·  "Ausrüstungen" · 12 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Ausrüstung" for "Ausrüstungen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʁʏstʊŋ] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌʁʏstʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Ausrüstung" or "Ausrüstungen"?
"Ausrüstung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,248 in our German list, against #46,486 for "Ausrüstungen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Ausrüstung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ausrüstungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,124,085 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ausrüstung" and "Ausrüstungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ausrottung vs Ausrüstung". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,124,085 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