Which to use
“Abend” is a noun and “ätzend” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #405
- “Abend” frequency rank
- #20,810
- “ätzend” frequency rank
- 21215
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Abend | ätzend |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Tageszeit nach dem Nachmittag, die beginnt, wenn die Sonne den Horizont erreicht, und bei völliger Dunkelheit endet; dem Abend geht der Tag voran und auf den Abend folgt die Nacht | Oberflächen zerstörend, Gewebe zerstörend |
Where the eye mixes Abend and ätzend
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Abend runs 5 letters (VCVCC) against ätzend's 6 (VCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Abend and ätzend
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Abend is [ˈaːbn̩t] while ätzend is [ˈɛt͡sn̩t]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21215, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Abend is recorded at frequency rank #405, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaːbn̩t]. ätzend is at rank #20,810, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛt͡sn̩t].
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 21215, this pair ranks #1,888,890 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Abend vs ätzend
Shared letters: den. Private to "Abend": ab. Private to "ätzend": tzä.
"Abend" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC · "ätzend" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Abend ← abbend · abedn · abendd · abennd · abned · aebnd · baend
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Abend" for "ätzend" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Abend" vs "ätzend" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Abend" and "ätzend" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Abend" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ätzend" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,888,890 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Abend" and "ätzend" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Atze vs ätzend". 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 #1,888,890 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.