AbfragevsabtragenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#32,893
“Abfrage” frequency rank
#49,443
“abtragen” frequency rank
82336
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abfrage abtragen
Definition Auswahl von Informationen aus einem elektronisch gespeicherten Datenbestand schichtweise entfernen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Abfrage and abtragen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Abfrage
8 ch
abtragen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Abfrage is [ˈapˌfʁaːɡə] while abtragen is [ˈapˌtʁaːɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82336, 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]. abtragen is at rank #49,443, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌtʁaːɡn̩].

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 82336, this pair ranks #159,128 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Abfrage vs abtragen

Shared letters: abegr. Private to "Abfrage": f. Private to "abtragen": nt.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abfrageabbfrage · abfarge · abffrage · abfraeg · abfragge · abfrgae · abfrrage · abrfage
  • abtragenabbtragen · abrtagen · abtargen · abtraegn · abtragenn · abtraggen · abtragne · abtrgaen

Frequency comparison

Abfrage#32,893
abtragen#49,443

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Abfrage" and "abtragen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Abfrage" is a noun and "abtragen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Abfrage" or "abtragen"?
"Abfrage" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,893 in our German list, against #49,443 for "abtragen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Abfrage vs abtragen

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 “abtragen”.
  • 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