Which to use
“Abfall” is a noun and “abfällig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,501
- “Abfall” frequency rank
- #46,440
- “abfällig” frequency rank
- 54941
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Abfall | abfällig |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | der bei der Verwendung oder Verarbeitung übrig gebliebene Rest (auch im übertragenen Sinn) | eine ablehnende Haltung zeigend, nur wenig wertschätzend, mit Verachtung |
Where the eye mixes Abfall and abfällig
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Abfall vs abfällig
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Abfall is [ˈapˌfal] while abfällig is [ˈapˌfɛlɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 54941, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Abfall is recorded at frequency rank #8,501, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌfal]. abfällig is at rank #46,440, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈapˌfɛlɪç].
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 54941, this pair ranks #998,911 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Abfall vs abfällig
Shared letters: abfl. Private to "Abfall": -. Private to "abfällig": giä.
"Abfall" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "abfällig" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Abfall ← abafll · abbfall · abfal · abffall · abflal · afball · bafall
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Abfall" for "abfällig" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Abfall" vs "abfällig" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Abfall" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abfällig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #998,911 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Abfall" and "abfällig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abfallen vs abfällig". 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 #998,911 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.