aussahenvsausstehenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#31,944
“aussahen” frequency rank
#25,452
“ausstehen” frequency rank
57396
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aussahen ausstehen
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs aussehen erwartet werden, aber noch fehlen

Where the eye mixes aussahen and ausstehen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. aussahen runs 8 letters (VVCCVCVC) against ausstehen's 9 (VVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
aussahen
9 ch
ausstehen

Why the eye confuses aussahen with ausstehen

A purely visual mix-up. aussahen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌzaːən]) and ausstehen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌʃteːən]) 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 57396, 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]. ausstehen is at rank #25,452, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌʃteːən].

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 57396, this pair ranks #902,984 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aussahen vs ausstehen

Shared letters: aehnsu. Private to "aussahen": -. Private to "ausstehen": t.

"aussahen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC  ·  "ausstehen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aussahenasusahen · ausahen · ausashen · aussaehn · aussahenn · aussahhen · aussahne · ausshaen
  • ausstehenasustehen · aussethen · aussteehn · ausstehenn · ausstehhen · ausstehne · ausstheen · aussttehen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "aussahen" and "ausstehen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌzaːən] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌʃteːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "aussahen" vs "ausstehen" - which ranks higher?
"ausstehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,452 in our German list, against #31,944 for "aussahen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "aussahen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ausstehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #902,984 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aussahen" and "ausstehen" 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 #902,984 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