AbgangvsAbgaseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,668
“Abgang” frequency rank
#28,499
“Abgase” frequency rank
38167
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abgang Abgase
Definition Weg, der nach unten führt; eine Treppe, eine Rampe, die abwärts führt Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Abgas

Where the eye mixes Abgang and Abgase

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Abgang (VCCVCC) and Abgase (VCCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
Abgang
6 ch
Abgase

Why the eye confuses Abgang with Abgase

A purely visual mix-up. Abgang ([ˈapˌɡaŋ]) and Abgase ([ˈapˌɡaːzə]) 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 38167, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abgang is recorded at frequency rank #9,668, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌɡaŋ]. Abgase is at rank #28,499, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌɡaːzə].

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 38167, this pair ranks #1,571,103 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Abgang vs Abgase

Shared letters: abg. Private to "Abgang": n. Private to "Abgase": es.

"Abgang" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "Abgase" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abgang ← abagng · abbgang · abgagn · abgangg · abganng · abggang · abgnag · agbang
  • Abgase ← abagse · abbgase · abgaes · abgasse · abggase · abgsae · agbase · bagase

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Abgang" and "Abgase" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌɡaŋ] versus [ˈapˌɡaːzə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Abgang" vs "Abgase" - which ranks higher?
"Abgang" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,668 in our German list, against #28,499 for "Abgase". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Abgang" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Abgase" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,571,103 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Abgang" and "Abgase" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abgas vs Abgase". 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 #1,571,103 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