AbfällevsAbfolgeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#19,475
“Abfälle” frequency rank
#21,149
“Abfolge” frequency rank
40624
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abfälle Abfolge
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Abfall geregelte, ordnungsgemäße Aufeinanderfolge

Where the eye mixes Abfälle and Abfolge

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Abfälle and Abfolge follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
Abfälle
7 ch
Abfolge

Visual trap between Abfälle and Abfolge

A purely visual mix-up. Abfälle ([ˈapˌfɛlə]) and Abfolge ([ˈapˌfɔlɡə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40624, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abfälle is recorded at frequency rank #19,475, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌfɛlə]. Abfolge is at rank #21,149, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌfɔlɡə].

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 40624, this pair ranks #1,503,116 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Abfälle vs Abfolge

Shared letters: abefl. Private to "Abfälle": ä. Private to "Abfolge": go.

"Abfälle" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "Abfolge" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abfolge ← abbfolge · abffolge · abfloge · abfogle · abfoleg · abfolgge · abfollge · aboflge

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Abfälle" and "Abfolge" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌfɛlə] versus [ˈapˌfɔlɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Abfälle" vs "Abfolge" - which ranks higher?
"Abfälle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,475 in our German list, against #21,149 for "Abfolge". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Abfälle" and "Abfolge" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Abfälle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Abfolge" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,503,116 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Abfälle" and "Abfolge" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abfälle 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 #1,503,116 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