abgeschlagenvsabschlagenWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: abgeschlagen is a adjective, abschlagen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“abgeschlagen” is an adjective and “abschlagen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,425
“abgeschlagen” frequency rank
#47,916
“abschlagen” frequency rank
73341
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abgeschlagen abschlagen
Definition weit hinter dem Sieger platziert, hinter Besseren zurückgefallen etwas mit Gewalt abtrennen

Where the eye mixes abgeschlagen and abschlagen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. abgeschlagen runs 12 letters (VCCVCCCCVCVC) against abschlagen's 10 (VCCCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch
abgeschlagen
10 ch
abschlagen

Why the eye confuses abgeschlagen with abschlagen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abgeschlagen is [ˈapɡəˌʃlaːɡn̩] while abschlagen is [ˈapˌʃlaːɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73341, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abgeschlagen is recorded at frequency rank #25,425, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌʃlaːɡn̩]. abschlagen is at rank #47,916, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃlaːɡn̩].

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 73341, this pair ranks #363,017 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abgeschlagen vs abschlagen

Shared letters: abceghlns. Private to "abgeschlagen": -. Private to "abschlagen": -.

"abgeschlagen" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCCVCVC  ·  "abschlagen" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abgeschlagen ← abbgeschlagen · abegschlagen · abgecshlagen · abgescchlagen · abgeschalgen · abgeschhlagen · abgeschlaegn · abgeschlagenn
  • abschlagen ← abbschlagen · abcshlagen · abscchlagen · abschalgen · abschhlagen · abschlaegn · abschlagenn · abschlaggen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abgeschlagen" for "abschlagen" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "abgeschlagen" is an adjective and "abschlagen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "abgeschlagen" or "abschlagen"?
"abgeschlagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,425 in our German list, against #47,916 for "abschlagen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abgeschlagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abschlagen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #363,017 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abgeschlagen" and "abschlagen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abschlagen vs ausschlagen". 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 #363,017 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