ausweichenvsausweitenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,815
“ausweichen” frequency rank
#24,626
“ausweiten” frequency rank
35441
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ausweichen ausweiten
Definition eine Bewegung machen, um einen Zusammenstoß zu vermeiden; jemandem Platz machen etwas durch Benutzung dehnen und somit dauerhaft weiter machen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ausweichen and ausweiten apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
ausweichen
9 ch
ausweiten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ausweichen ([ˈaʊ̯sˌvaɪ̯çn̩]) and ausweiten ([ˈaʊ̯sˌvaɪ̯tn̩]) 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 35441, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ausweichen is recorded at frequency rank #10,815, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌvaɪ̯çn̩]. ausweiten is at rank #24,626, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌvaɪ̯tn̩].

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 35441, this pair ranks #1,639,933 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ausweichen vs ausweiten

Shared letters: aeinsuw. Private to "ausweichen": ch. Private to "ausweiten": t.

"ausweichen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVVCCVC  ·  "ausweiten" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ausweichenasuweichen · ausewichen · aussweichen · auswecihen · ausweicchen · ausweicehn · ausweichenn · ausweichhen
  • ausweitenasuweiten · ausewiten · aussweiten · ausweietn · ausweitenn · ausweitne · ausweitten · auswetien

Frequency comparison

ausweichen#10,815
ausweiten#24,626

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ausweichen" and "ausweiten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯sˌvaɪ̯çn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌvaɪ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ausweichen" or "ausweiten"?
"ausweichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,815 in our German list, against #24,626 for "ausweiten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ausweichen vs ausweiten

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 “ausweichen” 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