Which to use
“abfragen” and “abraten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,414
- “abfragen” frequency rank
- #41,622
- “abraten” frequency rank
- 75036
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abfragen | abraten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Prüfungsfragen stellen | jemandem raten, etwas nicht zu tun |
Where the eye mixes abfragen and abraten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abfragen runs 8 letters (VCCCVCVC) against abraten's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abfragen with abraten
A purely visual mix-up. abfragen ([ˈapˌfʁaːɡn̩]) and abraten ([ˈapˌʁaːtn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75036, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abfragen is recorded at frequency rank #33,414, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌfʁaːɡn̩]. abraten is at rank #41,622, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʁaːtn̩].
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 75036, this pair ranks #318,071 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of abfragen vs abraten
Shared letters: abenr. Private to "abfragen": fg. Private to "abraten": t.
"abfragen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC · "abraten" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abfragen" and "abraten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "abfragen" vs "abraten" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abfragen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abraten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #318,071 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abfragen" and "abraten" 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 #318,071 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.