AbgängevsAbsageWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#34,496
“Abgänge” frequency rank
#9,315
“Absage” frequency rank
43811
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abgänge Absage
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Abgang Mitteilung, dass etwas Geplantes nicht zustande kommt

Where the eye mixes Abgänge and Absage

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Abgänge runs 7 letters (VCCVCCV) against Absage's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Abgänge
6 ch
Absage

Why the eye confuses Abgänge with Absage

A purely visual mix-up. Abgänge ([ˈapˌɡɛŋə]) and Absage ([ˈapˌz̥aːɡə]) 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 43811, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abgänge is recorded at frequency rank #34,496, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌɡɛŋə]. Absage is at rank #9,315, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌz̥aːɡə].

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 43811, this pair ranks #1,406,201 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Abgänge vs Absage

Shared letters: abeg. Private to "Abgänge": nä. Private to "Absage": s.

"Abgänge" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "Absage" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Absage ← abasge · abbsage · absaeg · absagge · absgae · abssage · asbage · basage

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Abgänge" for "Absage" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌɡɛŋə] versus [ˈapˌz̥aːɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Abgänge" or "Absage" show up more?
"Absage" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,315 in our German list, against #34,496 for "Abgänge". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Abgänge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Absage" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,406,201 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Abgänge" and "Absage" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abgänge vs Anhänge". 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 #1,406,201 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