sausenvssauterTell them apart

Which to use

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

#36,608
“sausen” frequency rank
#43,458
“sauter” frequency rank
80066
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sausen sauter
Definition ein scharfes Geräusch verursachen, das gleichmäßig an- und abschwillt und an Reibung erinnert springen

Where the eye mixes sausen and sauter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. sausen and sauter follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
sausen
6 ch
sauter

Visual trap between sausen and sauter

A purely visual mix-up. sausen ([ˈzaʊ̯zn̩]) and sauter ([sote]) 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 80066, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sausen is recorded at frequency rank #36,608, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzaʊ̯zn̩]. sauter is at rank #43,458, tagged as averb, pronounced [sote].

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 80066, this pair ranks #203,215 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sausen vs sauter

Shared letters: aesu. Private to "sausen": n. Private to "sauter": rt.

"sausen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "sauter" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sausen ← asusen · sasuen · sauesn · sausenn · sausne · saussen · ssausen · suasen
  • sauter ← asuter · satuer · sauetr · sauterr · sautre · sautter · ssauter · suater

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sausen" and "sauter" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzaʊ̯zn̩] versus [sote]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "sausen" vs "sauter" - which ranks higher?
"sausen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,608 in our German list, against #43,458 for "sauter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sausen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sauter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #203,215 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sausen" and "sauter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sauter vs Stuten". 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 #203,215 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