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 eye mixes Abfrage and abtragen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Abfrage runs 7 letters (VCCCVCV) against abtragen's 8 (VCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Abfrage vs abtragen
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Abfrage" for "abtragen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Abfrage" vs "abtragen" - 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 "Abfrage" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abtragen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #159,128 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Abfrage" and "abtragen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abraten vs abtragen". 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 #159,128 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.