AbfragevsabfragenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#32,893
“Abfrage” frequency rank
#33,414
“abfragen” frequency rank
66307
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abfrage abfragen
Definition Auswahl von Informationen aus einem elektronisch gespeicherten Datenbestand Prüfungsfragen stellen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Abfrage and abfragen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Abfrage
8 ch
abfragen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Abfrage is [ˈapˌfʁaːɡə] while abfragen is [ˈapˌfʁaːɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Abfrage” sits inside “abfragen”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66307, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abfrage is recorded at frequency rank #32,893, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌfʁaːɡə]. abfragen is at rank #33,414, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌfʁaːɡn̩].

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 66307, this pair ranks #577,725 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Abfrage vs abfragen

Shared letters: abefgr. Private to "Abfrage": -. Private to "abfragen": n.

"Abfrage" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV  ·  "abfragen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abfrageabbfrage · abfarge · abffrage · abfraeg · abfragge · abfrgae · abfrrage · abrfage
  • abfragenabbfragen · abfargen · abffragen · abfraegn · abfragenn · abfraggen · abfragne · abfrgaen

Frequency comparison

Abfrage#32,893
abfragen#33,414

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Abfrage" and "abfragen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Abfrage" is a noun and "abfragen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Abfrage" or "abfragen"?
"Abfrage" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,893 in our German list, against #33,414 for "abfragen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Abfrage vs abfragen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Abfrage”; for a verb, it's “abfragen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Abfrage” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list