AbgabenvsAblebenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Abgaben” and “Ableben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#8,979
“Abgaben” frequency rank
#22,994
“Ableben” frequency rank
31973
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abgaben Ableben
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Abgabe Zeitpunkt beziehungsweise Zustand, an beziehungsweise in dem alle Lebensfunktionen eines Menschen aufgehört haben; Ende des menschlichen Daseins

Where the eye mixes Abgaben and Ableben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Abgaben
7 ch
Ableben

Why the eye confuses Abgaben with Ableben

A purely visual mix-up. Abgaben ([ˈapˌɡaːbn̩]) and Ableben ([ˈapˌleːbn̩]) 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 31973, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abgaben is recorded at frequency rank #8,979, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌɡaːbn̩]. Ableben is at rank #22,994, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌleːbn̩].

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 31973, this pair ranks #1,717,363 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Abgaben vs Ableben

Shared letters: aben. Private to "Abgaben": g. Private to "Ableben": l.

"Abgaben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "Ableben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abgabenabagben · abbgaben · abgabben · abgabenn · abgabne · abgaebn · abgbaen · abggaben
  • Ablebenabbleben · abelben · ablbeen · ablebben · ablebenn · ablebne · ableebn · ablleben

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Abgaben" and "Ableben" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌɡaːbn̩] versus [ˈapˌleːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Abgaben" or "Ableben" show up more?
"Abgaben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,979 in our German list, against #22,994 for "Ableben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Abgaben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ableben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,717,363 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Abgaben" and "Ableben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ableben vs Alleen". 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 #1,717,363 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list