abbiegenvsabzielenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,222
“abbiegen” frequency rank
#39,189
“abzielen” frequency rank
53411
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abbiegen abzielen
Definition die Form eines Gegenstandes bogenartig verändern es auf etwas absehen, etwas als Ziel ins Visier nehmen

Where the eye mixes abbiegen and abzielen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
abbiegen
8 ch
abzielen

Visual trap between abbiegen and abzielen

A purely visual mix-up. abbiegen ([ˈapˌbiːɡŋ̩]) and abzielen ([ˈapˌt͡siːlən]) 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 53411, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abbiegen is recorded at frequency rank #14,222, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌbiːɡŋ̩]. abzielen is at rank #39,189, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌt͡siːlən].

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 53411, this pair ranks #1,059,068 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abbiegen vs abzielen

Shared letters: abein. Private to "abbiegen": g. Private to "abzielen": lz.

"abbiegen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC  ·  "abzielen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abbiegenabbeigen · abbieegn · abbiegenn · abbieggen · abbiegne · abbigeen · abibegen · abiegen
  • abzielenabbzielen · abizelen · abzeilen · abzieeln · abzielenn · abziellen · abzielne · abzileen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abbiegen" and "abzielen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌbiːɡŋ̩] versus [ˈapˌt͡siːlən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abbiegen" or "abzielen"?
"abbiegen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,222 in our German list, against #39,189 for "abzielen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "abbiegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abzielen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,059,068 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abbiegen" and "abzielen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzielen vs abzielt". 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 #1,059,068 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