abgelegtvsabgesagtTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,132
“abgelegt” frequency rank
#6,620
“abgesagt” frequency rank
15752
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abgelegt abgesagt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ablegen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs absagen

Where the eye mixes abgelegt and abgesagt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abgelegt and abgesagt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
abgelegt
8 ch
abgesagt

Look-alike desk: abgelegt vs abgesagt

A purely visual mix-up. abgelegt ([ˈapɡəˌleːkt]) and abgesagt ([ˈapɡəˌzaːkt]) 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 15752, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abgelegt is recorded at frequency rank #9,132, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌleːkt]. abgesagt is at rank #6,620, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌzaːkt].

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 15752, this pair ranks #1,941,418 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abgelegt vs abgesagt

Shared letters: abegt. Private to "abgelegt": l. Private to "abgesagt": s.

"abgelegt" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC  ·  "abgesagt" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abgelegt ← abbgelegt · abeglegt · abgeelgt · abgeleggt · abgelegtt · abgeletg · abgelget · abgellegt
  • abgesagt ← abbgesagt · abegsagt · abgeasgt · abgesaggt · abgesagtt · abgesatg · abgesgat · abgessagt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abgelegt" and "abgesagt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapɡəˌleːkt] versus [ˈapɡəˌzaːkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "abgelegt" or "abgesagt" show up more?
"abgesagt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,620 in our German list, against #9,132 for "abgelegt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abgelegt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abgesagt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,941,418 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abgelegt" and "abgesagt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgelegen vs abgelegt". 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 #1,941,418 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