AbfahrtvsAbfahrtenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,136
“Abfahrt” frequency rank
#34,492
“Abfahrten” frequency rank
40628
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abfahrt Abfahrten
Definition Beginn einer Fahrt (meist zu einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt oder ab einem bestimmten, örtlich festgelegten Punkt) Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Abfahrt

Where the eye mixes Abfahrt and Abfahrten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Abfahrt runs 7 letters (VCCVCCC) against Abfahrten's 9 (VCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Abfahrt
9 ch
Abfahrten

Look-alike desk: Abfahrt vs Abfahrten

A purely visual mix-up. Abfahrt ([ˈapˌfaːɐ̯t]) and Abfahrten ([ˈapˌfaːɐ̯tn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Abfahrt” sits inside “Abfahrten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40628, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abfahrt is recorded at frequency rank #6,136, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌfaːɐ̯t]. Abfahrten is at rank #34,492, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌfaːɐ̯tn̩].

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 40628, this pair ranks #1,502,978 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Abfahrt vs Abfahrten

Shared letters: abfhrt. Private to "Abfahrt": -. Private to "Abfahrten": en.

"Abfahrt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC  ·  "Abfahrten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abfahrt ← abafhrt · abbfahrt · abfahhrt · abfahrrt · abfahrtt · abfahtr · abfarht · abffahrt
  • Abfahrten ← abafhrten · abbfahrten · abfahhrten · abfahretn · abfahrrten · abfahrtenn · abfahrtne · abfahrtten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Abfahrt" and "Abfahrten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌfaːɐ̯t] versus [ˈapˌfaːɐ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Abfahrt" or "Abfahrten" show up more?
"Abfahrt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,136 in our German list, against #34,492 for "Abfahrten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Abfahrt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Abfahrten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,502,978 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Abfahrt" and "Abfahrten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abfahrten vs Ausfahrten". 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 #1,502,978 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