UmbauenvsUmbausWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,740
“Umbauen” frequency rank
#45,637
“Umbaus” frequency rank
65377
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Umbauen Umbaus
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Umbau Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Umbau

Where the eye mixes Umbauen and Umbaus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Umbauen runs 7 letters (VCCVVVC) against Umbaus's 6 (VCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Umbauen
6 ch
Umbaus

Why the eye confuses Umbauen with Umbaus

A purely visual mix-up. Umbauen ([ˈʊmbaʊ̯ən]) and Umbaus ([ˈʊmbaʊ̯s]) 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 65377, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Umbauen is recorded at frequency rank #19,740, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʊmbaʊ̯ən]. Umbaus is at rank #45,637, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʊmbaʊ̯s].

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 65377, this pair ranks #609,068 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Umbauen vs Umbaus

Shared letters: abmu. Private to "Umbauen": en. Private to "Umbaus": s.

"Umbauen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVVC  ·  "Umbaus" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Umbauen ← mubauen · ubmauen · umabuen · umbaeun · umbauenn · umbaune · umbbauen · umbuaen
  • Umbaus ← mubaus · ubmaus · umabus · umbasu · umbauss · umbbaus · umbuas · ummbaus

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Umbauen" for "Umbaus" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʊmbaʊ̯ən] versus [ˈʊmbaʊ̯s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Umbauen" or "Umbaus"?
"Umbauen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,740 in our German list, against #45,637 for "Umbaus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Umbauen" and "Umbaus" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Umbauen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Umbaus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #609,068 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Umbauen" and "Umbaus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Umbauen vs umzubauen". 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 #609,068 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