Which to use
“abgegangen” and “angefangen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,419
- “abgegangen” frequency rank
- #2,098
- “angefangen” frequency rank
- 32517
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abgegangen | angefangen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs abgehen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs anfangen |
Where the eye mixes abgegangen and angefangen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abgegangen and angefangen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses abgegangen with angefangen
A purely visual mix-up. abgegangen ([ˈapɡəˌɡaŋən]) and angefangen ([ˈanɡəˌfaŋən]) 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 32517, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abgegangen is recorded at frequency rank #30,419, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌɡaŋən]. angefangen is at rank #2,098, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanɡəˌfaŋən].
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 32517, this pair ranks #1,705,911 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abgegangen vs angefangen
Shared letters: aegn. Private to "abgegangen": b. Private to "angefangen": f.
"abgegangen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC · "angefangen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abgegangen ← abbgegangen · abeggangen · abgeagngen · abgegagnen · abgeganegn · abgegangenn · abgeganggen · abgegangne
- angefangen ← agnefangen · anegfangen · angeafngen · angefagnen · angefanegn · angefangenn · angefanggen · angefangne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abgegangen" for "angefangen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "abgegangen" or "angefangen" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "abgegangen" and "angefangen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abgegangen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "angefangen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,705,911 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abgegangen" and "angefangen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgefangen vs abgegangen". 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 #1,705,911 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.