abgegebenvsabgelesenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#4,405
“abgegeben” frequency rank
#39,182
“abgelesen” frequency rank
43587
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abgegeben abgelesen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs abgeben Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ablesen

Where the eye mixes abgegeben and abgelesen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. abgegeben and abgelesen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
abgegeben
9 ch
abgelesen

Visual trap between abgegeben and abgelesen

A purely visual mix-up. abgegeben ([ˈapɡəˌɡeːbn̩]) and abgelesen ([ˈapɡəˌleːzn̩]) 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 43587, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abgegeben is recorded at frequency rank #4,405, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌɡeːbn̩]. abgelesen is at rank #39,182, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌleːzn̩].

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 43587, this pair ranks #1,413,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abgegeben vs abgelesen

Shared letters: abegn. Private to "abgegeben": -. Private to "abgelesen": ls.

"abgegeben" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC  ·  "abgelesen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abgegeben ← abbgegeben · abeggeben · abgeegben · abgegbeen · abgegebben · abgegebenn · abgegebne · abgegeebn
  • abgelesen ← abbgelesen · abeglesen · abgeelsen · abgeleesn · abgelesenn · abgelesne · abgelessen · abgellesen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abgegeben" and "abgelesen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapɡəˌɡeːbn̩] versus [ˈapɡəˌleːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abgegeben" or "abgelesen"?
"abgegeben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,405 in our German list, against #39,182 for "abgelesen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "abgegeben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abgelesen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,413,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abgegeben" and "abgelesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgelegen vs abgelesen". 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 #1,413,385 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