Which to use
“Abbau” and “Altbau” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,497
- “Abbau” frequency rank
- #21,516
- “Altbau” frequency rank
- 28013
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Abbau | Altbau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Beseitigung, der Rückbau von baulichen und anderen (auch zeitweilig errichteten) technischen oder künstlichen Anlagen, Einrichtungen, Aufbauten und Ähnlichem | älteres Gebäude, welches noch vor einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt — in der Regel noch vor dem Zweiten Weltkrieg — fertiggestellt worden ist |
Where the eye mixes Abbau and Altbau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Abbau runs 5 letters (VCCVV) against Altbau's 6 (VCCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Abbau vs Altbau
A purely visual mix-up. Abbau ([ˈapˌbaʊ̯]) and Altbau ([ˈaltˌbaʊ̯]) 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 28013, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Abbau is recorded at frequency rank #6,497, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌbaʊ̯]. Altbau is at rank #21,516, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaltˌbaʊ̯].
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 28013, this pair ranks #1,792,076 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Abbau vs Altbau
Shared letters: abu. Private to "Abbau": -. Private to "Altbau": lt.
"Abbau" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV · "Altbau" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Abbau" for "Altbau" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Abbau" vs "Altbau" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Abbau" and "Altbau" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Abbau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Altbau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,792,076 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Abbau" and "Altbau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Alban vs Altbau". 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 #1,792,076 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.