abbildenvsAbbildungWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: abbilden is a verb, Abbildung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“abbilden” is a verb and “Abbildung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,504
“abbilden” frequency rank
#7,561
“Abbildung” frequency rank
29065
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abbilden Abbildung
Definition etwas visuell darstellen oder zeigen, etwa auf einem Foto oder in einer Zeichnung etwas bildlich, grafisch, durch optische oder elektronische Verfahren oder symbolisch Dargestelltes, eine mehr oder weniger gute Kopie des eigentlichen, realen Bildes realer Gegenstände, Personen, Situationen, …

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abbilden and Abbildung apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
abbilden
9 ch
Abbildung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abbilden is [ˈapˌbɪldn̩] while Abbildung is [ˈapˌbɪldʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abbilden is recorded at frequency rank #21,504, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌbɪldn̩]. Abbildung is at rank #7,561, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌbɪldʊŋ].

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 29065, this pair ranks #1,773,697 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abbilden vs Abbildung

Shared letters: abdiln. Private to "abbilden": e. Private to "Abbildung": gu.

"abbilden" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "Abbildung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abbildenabbidlen · abbildden · abbildenn · abbildne · abbiledn · abbillden · abbliden · abiblden
  • Abbildungabbidlung · abbilddung · abbildnug · abbildugn · abbildungg · abbildunng · abbilldung · abbiludng

Frequency comparison

abbilden#21,504
Abbildung#7,561

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abbilden" and "Abbildung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "abbilden" is a verb and "Abbildung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "abbilden" or "Abbildung"?
"Abbildung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,561 in our German list, against #21,504 for "abbilden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abbilden vs Abbildung

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “abbilden”; for a noun, it's “Abbildung”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “abbilden” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list