Which to use
“abgeben” and “ablegen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,556
- “abgeben” frequency rank
- #9,496
- “ablegen” frequency rank
- 13052
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abgeben | ablegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem etwas geben, der es haben soll oder verlangt | fortlegen, niederlegen, irgendwohin legen |
Where the eye mixes abgeben and ablegen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. abgeben and ablegen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between abgeben and ablegen
A purely visual mix-up. abgeben ([ˈapˌɡeːbn̩]) and ablegen ([ˈapˌleːɡn̩]) 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 13052, 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]. ablegen is at rank #9,496, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌleːɡn̩].
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 13052, this pair ranks #1,960,414 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abgeben vs ablegen
Shared letters: abegn. Private to "abgeben": -. Private to "ablegen": l.
"abgeben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "ablegen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abgeben" and "ablegen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "abgeben" vs "ablegen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abgeben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ablegen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,960,414 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abgeben" and "ablegen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgelegen vs ablegen". 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 #1,960,414 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.