abfahrenvsAbfahrtWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#25,020
“abfahren” frequency rank
#6,136
“Abfahrt” frequency rank
31156
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abfahren Abfahrt
Definition sich (fahrend, im Fahrzeug) von einem Ort wegbegeben Beginn einer Fahrt (meist zu einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt oder ab einem bestimmten, örtlich festgelegten Punkt)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abfahren and Abfahrt apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
abfahren
7 ch
Abfahrt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abfahren is [ˈapˌfaːʁən] while Abfahrt is [ˈapˌfaːɐ̯t]. 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 31156, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abfahren is recorded at frequency rank #25,020, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌfaːʁən]. Abfahrt is at rank #6,136, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌfaːɐ̯t].

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 31156, this pair ranks #1,733,705 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abfahren vs Abfahrt

Shared letters: abfhr. Private to "abfahren": en. Private to "Abfahrt": t.

"abfahren" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "Abfahrt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abfahrenabafhren · abbfahren · abfahern · abfahhren · abfahrenn · abfahrne · abfahrren · abfarhen
  • Abfahrtabafhrt · abbfahrt · abfahhrt · abfahrrt · abfahrtt · abfahtr · abfarht · abffahrt

Frequency comparison

abfahren#25,020
Abfahrt#6,136

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abfahren" and "Abfahrt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "abfahren" is a verb and "Abfahrt" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "abfahren" or "Abfahrt"?
"Abfahrt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,136 in our German list, against #25,020 for "abfahren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abfahren vs Abfahrt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “abfahren”; for a noun, it's “Abfahrt”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “abfahren” 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