abgegebenvsabzugebenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,405
“abgegeben” frequency rank
#8,018
“abzugeben” frequency rank
12423
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abgegeben abzugeben
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs abgeben erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abgeben

Where the eye mixes abgegeben and abzugeben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. abgegeben and abzugeben 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
abzugeben

Why the eye confuses abgegeben with abzugeben

A purely visual mix-up. abgegeben ([ˈapɡəˌɡeːbn̩]) and abzugeben ([ˈapt͡suˌɡeːbn̩]) 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 12423, 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]. abzugeben is at rank #8,018, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌɡeːbn̩].

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 12423, this pair ranks #1,964,286 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abgegeben vs abzugeben

Shared letters: abegn. Private to "abgegeben": -. Private to "abzugeben": uz.

"abgegeben" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC  ·  "abzugeben" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abgegeben ← abbgegeben · abeggeben · abgeegben · abgegbeen · abgegebben · abgegebenn · abgegebne · abgegeebn
  • abzugeben ← abbzugeben · abuzgeben · abzgueben · abzuegben · abzugbeen · abzugebben · abzugebenn · abzugebne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "abgegeben" and "abzugeben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapɡəˌɡeːbn̩] versus [ˈapt͡suˌɡeːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abgegeben" or "abzugeben"?
"abgegeben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,405 in our German list, against #8,018 for "abzugeben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "abgegeben" and "abzugeben" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abgegeben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abzugeben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,964,286 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abgegeben" and "abzugeben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgegeben vs abgelegen". 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 #1,964,286 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