abgebrochenvsabgesprochenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#6,137
“abgebrochen” frequency rank
#15,284
“abgesprochen” frequency rank
21421
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abgebrochen abgesprochen
Definition getrennt/geteilt/losgebrochen vereinbart, ausgemacht, festgelegt, verabredet

Where the eye mixes abgebrochen and abgesprochen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. abgebrochen runs 11 letters (VCCVCCVCCVC) against abgesprochen's 12 (VCCVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
abgebrochen
12 ch
abgesprochen

Why the eye confuses abgebrochen with abgesprochen

A purely visual mix-up. abgebrochen ([ˈapɡəˌbʁɔxn̩]) and abgesprochen ([ˈapɡəˌʃpʁɔxn̩]) 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 21421, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abgebrochen is recorded at frequency rank #6,137, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌbʁɔxn̩]. abgesprochen is at rank #15,284, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌʃpʁɔxn̩].

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 21421, this pair ranks #1,886,456 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abgebrochen vs abgesprochen

Shared letters: abceghnor. Private to "abgebrochen": -. Private to "abgesprochen": ps.

"abgebrochen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC  ·  "abgesprochen" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abgebrochen ← abbgebrochen · abegbrochen · abgberochen · abgebbrochen · abgeborchen · abgebrcohen · abgebrocchen · abgebrocehn
  • abgesprochen ← abbgesprochen · abegsprochen · abgepsrochen · abgesporchen · abgespprochen · abgesprcohen · abgesprocchen · abgesprocehn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abgebrochen" for "abgesprochen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapɡəˌbʁɔxn̩] versus [ˈapɡəˌʃpʁɔxn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abgebrochen" vs "abgesprochen" - which ranks higher?
"abgebrochen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,137 in our German list, against #15,284 for "abgesprochen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "abgebrochen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abgesprochen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,886,456 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abgebrochen" and "abgesprochen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgebrochen vs abgebrochene". 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 #1,886,456 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