abgerufenvsangerufenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,408
“abgerufen” frequency rank
#5,795
“angerufen” frequency rank
16203
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abgerufen angerufen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs abrufen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs anrufen

Where the eye mixes abgerufen and angerufen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abgerufen and angerufen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
abgerufen
9 ch
angerufen

Visual trap between abgerufen and angerufen

A purely visual mix-up. abgerufen ([ˈapɡəˌʁuːfn̩]) and angerufen ([ˈanɡəˌʁuːfn̩]) 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 a single letter - b in “abgerufen” becomes n in “angerufen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16203, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abgerufen is recorded at frequency rank #10,408, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌʁuːfn̩]. angerufen is at rank #5,795, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanɡəˌʁuːfn̩].

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 16203, this pair ranks #1,937,750 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abgerufen vs angerufen

Shared letters: aefgnru. Private to "abgerufen": b. Private to "angerufen": -.

"abgerufen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC  ·  "angerufen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abgerufen ← abbgerufen · abegrufen · abgerfuen · abgerrufen · abgeruefn · abgerufenn · abgeruffen · abgerufne
  • angerufen ← agnerufen · anegrufen · angerfuen · angerrufen · angeruefn · angerufenn · angeruffen · angerufne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abgerufen" and "angerufen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapɡəˌʁuːfn̩] versus [ˈanɡəˌʁuːfn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abgerufen" or "angerufen"?
"angerufen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,795 in our German list, against #10,408 for "abgerufen". 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 "abgerufen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "angerufen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,937,750 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abgerufen" and "angerufen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgeraten vs abgerufen". 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 #1,937,750 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