Which to use
“abgehen” and “ablehnen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,481
- “abgehen” frequency rank
- #7,856
- “ablehnen” frequency rank
- 28337
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abgehen | ablehnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine bestimmte Stelle, Ort verlassen, weggehen | zu etwas nein sagen; etwas zurückweisen oder missbilligen |
Where the eye mixes abgehen and ablehnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abgehen runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against ablehnen's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abgehen with ablehnen
A purely visual mix-up. abgehen ([ˈapˌɡeːən]) and ablehnen ([ˈapˌleːnən]) 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 28337, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abgehen is recorded at frequency rank #20,481, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌɡeːən]. ablehnen is at rank #7,856, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌleːnən].
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 28337, this pair ranks #1,786,577 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abgehen vs ablehnen
Shared letters: abehn. Private to "abgehen": g. Private to "ablehnen": l.
"abgehen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "ablehnen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abgehen" for "ablehnen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "abgehen" or "ablehnen"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "abgehen" and "ablehnen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abgehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ablehnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,786,577 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abgehen" and "ablehnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abdrehen vs abgehen". 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 #1,786,577 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.