Which to use
“abgeben” is a verb and “abgehoben” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,556
- “abgeben” frequency rank
- #17,791
- “abgehoben” frequency rank
- 21347
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abgeben | abgehoben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem etwas geben, der es haben soll oder verlangt | angehoben/entfernt worden/heruntergenommen; entgegengenommene Telefongespräche oder Ähnliches (bildlich für abgenommene Handapparate) |
Where the eye mixes abgeben and abgehoben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. abgeben runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against abgehoben's 9 (VCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between abgeben and abgehoben
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abgeben is [ˈapˌɡeːbn̩] while abgehoben is [ˈapɡəˌhoːbn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21347, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abgeben is recorded at frequency rank #3,556, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌɡeːbn̩]. abgehoben is at rank #17,791, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌhoːbn̩].
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 21347, this pair ranks #1,887,356 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abgeben vs abgehoben
Shared letters: abegn. Private to "abgeben": -. Private to "abgehoben": ho.
"abgeben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "abgehoben" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abgeben" for "abgehoben" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "abgeben" or "abgehoben" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "abgeben" and "abgehoben" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abgeben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abgehoben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,887,356 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abgeben" and "abgehoben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgebogen vs abgehoben". 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 #1,887,356 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.