Which to use
“aussahen” and “aussehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,944
- “aussahen” frequency rank
- #1,408
- “aussehen” frequency rank
- 33352
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aussahen | aussehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs aussehen | ein Bild nach außen abgeben |
Where the eye mixes aussahen and aussehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. aussahen and aussehen 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 aussahen with aussehen
A purely visual mix-up. aussahen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌzaːən]) and aussehen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌz̥eːən]) 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 a single letter - a in “aussahen” becomes e in “aussehen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33352, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aussahen is recorded at frequency rank #31,944, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌzaːən]. aussehen is at rank #1,408, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌz̥eːən].
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 33352, this pair ranks #1,687,815 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of aussahen vs aussehen
Shared letters: aehnsu. Private to "aussahen": -. Private to "aussehen": -.
"aussahen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC · "aussehen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aussahen" for "aussehen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "aussahen" or "aussehen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "aussahen" and "aussehen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "aussahen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aussehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,687,815 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aussahen" and "aussehen" 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 #1,687,815 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.