Which to use
“abgelegen” is an adjective and “abzulegen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,436
- “abgelegen” frequency rank
- #21,151
- “abzulegen” frequency rank
- 70587
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abgelegen | abzulegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | weit weg und schlecht zugänglich | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs ablegen |
Where the eye mixes abgelegen and abzulegen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. abgelegen and abzulegen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: abgelegen vs abzulegen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abgelegen is [ˈapɡəˌleːɡn̩] while abzulegen is [ˈapt͡suˌleːɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70587, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abgelegen is recorded at frequency rank #49,436, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌleːɡn̩]. abzulegen is at rank #21,151, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌleːɡn̩].
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 70587, this pair ranks #441,779 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of abgelegen vs abzulegen
Shared letters: abegln. Private to "abgelegen": -. Private to "abzulegen": uz.
"abgelegen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC · "abzulegen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abgelegen" for "abzulegen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "abgelegen" or "abzulegen" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abgelegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abzulegen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #441,779 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abgelegen" and "abzulegen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgeladen 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 #441,779 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.