abgeschlagenvsangeschlageneTell them apart

Which to use

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

#25,425
“abgeschlagen” frequency rank
#45,753
“angeschlagene” frequency rank
71178
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abgeschlagen angeschlagene
Definition weit hinter dem Sieger platziert, hinter Besseren zurückgefallen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs angeschlagen

Where the eye mixes abgeschlagen and angeschlagene

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. abgeschlagen runs 12 letters (VCCVCCCCVCVC) against angeschlagene's 13 (VCCVCCCCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch
abgeschlagen
13 ch
angeschlagene

Why the eye confuses abgeschlagen with angeschlagene

A purely visual mix-up. abgeschlagen ([ˈapɡəˌʃlaːɡn̩]) and angeschlagene ([ˈanɡəˌʃlaːɡənə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71178, 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]. angeschlagene is at rank #45,753, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈanɡəˌʃlaːɡənə].

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 71178, this pair ranks #424,307 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abgeschlagen vs angeschlagene

Shared letters: aceghlns. Private to "abgeschlagen": b. Private to "angeschlagene": -.

"abgeschlagen" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCCVCVC  ·  "angeschlagene" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCCCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abgeschlagen ← abbgeschlagen · abegschlagen · abgecshlagen · abgescchlagen · abgeschalgen · abgeschhlagen · abgeschlaegn · abgeschlagenn
  • angeschlagene ← agneschlagene · anegschlagene · angecshlagene · angescchlagene · angeschalgene · angeschhlagene · angeschlaegne · angeschlageen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abgeschlagen" for "angeschlagene" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapɡəˌʃlaːɡn̩] versus [ˈanɡəˌʃlaːɡənə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "abgeschlagen" or "angeschlagene" show up more?
"abgeschlagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,425 in our German list, against #45,753 for "angeschlagene". 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 "angeschlagene" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #424,307 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abgeschlagen" and "angeschlagene" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "angeschlagene vs angeschlagenen". 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 #424,307 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