Which to use
“abdrehen” and “absehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,332
- “abdrehen” frequency rank
- #26,726
- “absehen” frequency rank
- 64058
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abdrehen | absehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas mit einer drehenden Bewegung ablösen | (zukünftige Ereignisse) voraussehen |
Where the eye mixes abdrehen and absehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abdrehen runs 8 letters (VCCCVCVC) against absehen's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: abdrehen vs absehen
A purely visual mix-up. abdrehen ([ˈapˌdʁeːən]) and absehen ([ˈapˌz̥eːən]) 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 64058, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abdrehen is recorded at frequency rank #37,332, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌdʁeːən]. absehen is at rank #26,726, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌz̥eːən].
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 64058, this pair ranks #654,861 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abdrehen vs absehen
Shared letters: abehn. Private to "abdrehen": dr. Private to "absehen": s.
"abdrehen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC · "absehen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abdrehen" for "absehen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "abdrehen" or "absehen"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "abdrehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "absehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #654,861 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abdrehen" and "absehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abdrehen vs andrehen". 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 #654,861 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.