Which to use
“abfangen” and “abhängen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,974
- “abfangen” frequency rank
- #10,026
- “abhängen” frequency rank
- 39000
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abfangen | abhängen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden oder etwas auf seinem Weg aufhalten | zur Bedingung haben |
Where the eye mixes abfangen and abhängen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abfangen and abhängen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: abfangen vs abhängen
A purely visual mix-up. abfangen ([ˈapˌfaŋən]) and abhängen ([ˈapˌhɛŋən]) 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 39000, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abfangen is recorded at frequency rank #28,974, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌfaŋən]. abhängen is at rank #10,026, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌhɛŋən].
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 39000, this pair ranks #1,548,889 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abfangen vs abhängen
Shared letters: abegn. Private to "abfangen": f. Private to "abhängen": hä.
"abfangen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "abhängen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abfangen ← abafngen · abbfangen · abfagnen · abfanegn · abfangenn · abfanggen · abfangne · abfanngen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abfangen" and "abhängen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "abfangen" vs "abhängen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abfangen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abhängen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,548,889 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abfangen" and "abhängen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abfangen vs absaugen". 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 #1,548,889 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.