Which to use
“abarbeiten” and “arbeiten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,418
- “abarbeiten” frequency rank
- #348
- “arbeiten” frequency rank
- 30766
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abarbeiten | arbeiten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein auferlegtes Arbeitspensum bearbeiten | geistig oder körperlich tätig sein, zielstrebig handeln, um so ein Ergebnis zu erzielen |
Where the eye mixes abarbeiten and arbeiten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abarbeiten runs 10 letters (VCVCCVVCVC) against arbeiten's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between abarbeiten and arbeiten
A purely visual mix-up. abarbeiten ([ˈapʔaʁˌbaɪ̯tn̩]) and arbeiten ([ˈaʁbaɪ̯tn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “arbeiten” sits inside “abarbeiten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30766, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abarbeiten is recorded at frequency rank #30,418, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapʔaʁˌbaɪ̯tn̩]. arbeiten is at rank #348, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʁbaɪ̯tn̩].
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 30766, this pair ranks #1,741,509 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abarbeiten vs arbeiten
Shared letters: abeinrt. Private to "abarbeiten": -. Private to "arbeiten": -.
"abarbeiten" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCVVCVC · "arbeiten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abarbeiten ← aabrbeiten · ababreiten · abarbbeiten · abarbeietn · abarbeitenn · abarbeitne · abarbeitten · abarbetien
- arbeiten ← abreiten · arbbeiten · arbeietn · arbeitenn · arbeitne · arbeitten · arbetien · arbieten
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abarbeiten" and "arbeiten" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "abarbeiten" or "arbeiten" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "abarbeiten" and "arbeiten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abarbeiten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "arbeiten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,741,509 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abarbeiten" and "arbeiten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abarbeiten vs abzuarbeiten". 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 #1,741,509 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.