abgestelltvsangestelltWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: abgestellt is a verb, angestellt is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#11,369
“abgestellt” frequency rank
#5,138
“angestellt” frequency rank
16507
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abgestellt angestellt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs abstellen in beruflicher Stellung seiend, eigene Arbeitskraft vertraglich gegen Entlohnung zur Verfügung stellend, Angestellter sein

Where the eye mixes abgestellt and angestellt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

10 ch
abgestellt
10 ch
angestellt

Why the eye confuses abgestellt with angestellt

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abgestellt is [ˈapɡəˌʃtɛlt] while angestellt is [ˈanɡəˌʃtɛlt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - b in “abgestellt” becomes n in “angestellt”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16507, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abgestellt is recorded at frequency rank #11,369, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌʃtɛlt]. angestellt is at rank #5,138, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈanɡəˌʃtɛlt].

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 16507, this pair ranks #1,935,264 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abgestellt vs angestellt

Shared letters: aeglst. Private to "abgestellt": b. Private to "angestellt": n.

"abgestellt" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCC  ·  "angestellt" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abgestelltabbgestellt · abegstellt · abgesetllt · abgesstellt · abgestelltt · abgestelt · abgesteltl · abgestlelt
  • angestelltagnestellt · anegstellt · angesetllt · angesstellt · angestelltt · angestelt · angesteltl · angestlelt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abgestellt" and "angestellt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "abgestellt" is a verb and "angestellt" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "abgestellt" or "angestellt"?
"angestellt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,138 in our German list, against #11,369 for "abgestellt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "abgestellt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "angestellt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,935,264 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abgestellt" and "angestellt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "angestellt vs anstellt". 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 #1,935,264 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