abgeschafftvsangeschafftConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#8,017
“abgeschafft” frequency rank
#18,158
“angeschafft” frequency rank
26175
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abgeschafft angeschafft
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs abschaffen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs anschaffen

Where the eye mixes abgeschafft and angeschafft

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. abgeschafft and angeschafft follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

11 ch
abgeschafft
11 ch
angeschafft

Look-alike desk: abgeschafft vs angeschafft

A purely visual mix-up. abgeschafft ([ˈapɡəˌʃaft]) and angeschafft ([ˈanɡəˌʃaft]) 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 “abgeschafft” becomes n in “angeschafft”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26175, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abgeschafft is recorded at frequency rank #8,017, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌʃaft]. angeschafft is at rank #18,158, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanɡəˌʃaft].

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 26175, this pair ranks #1,822,021 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abgeschafft vs angeschafft

Shared letters: acefghst. Private to "abgeschafft": b. Private to "angeschafft": n.

"abgeschafft" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCC  ·  "angeschafft" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abgeschafftabbgeschafft · abegschafft · abgecshafft · abgescahfft · abgescchafft · abgeschafftt · abgeschaft · abgeschaftf
  • angeschafftagneschafft · anegschafft · angecshafft · angescahfft · angescchafft · angeschafftt · angeschaft · angeschaftf

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abgeschafft" for "angeschafft" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapɡəˌʃaft] versus [ˈanɡəˌʃaft]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abgeschafft" or "angeschafft"?
"abgeschafft" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,017 in our German list, against #18,158 for "angeschafft". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "abgeschafft" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "angeschafft" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,822,021 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abgeschafft" and "angeschafft" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "angeschafft vs angeschaut". 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 #1,822,021 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