abgetretenvsabgetriebenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#28,045
“abgetreten” frequency rank
#45,736
“abgetrieben” frequency rank
73781
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abgetreten abgetrieben
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs abtreten Partizip Perfekt des Verbs abtreiben

Where the eye mixes abgetreten and abgetrieben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. abgetreten runs 10 letters (VCCVCCVCVC) against abgetrieben's 11 (VCCVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
abgetreten
11 ch
abgetrieben

Why the eye confuses abgetreten with abgetrieben

A purely visual mix-up. abgetreten ([ˈapɡəˌtʁeːtn̩]) and abgetrieben ([ˈapɡəˌtʁiːbn̩]) 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 73781, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abgetreten is recorded at frequency rank #28,045, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌtʁeːtn̩]. abgetrieben is at rank #45,736, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌtʁiːbn̩].

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 73781, this pair ranks #351,146 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abgetreten vs abgetrieben

Shared letters: abegnrt. Private to "abgetreten": -. Private to "abgetrieben": i.

"abgetreten" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC  ·  "abgetrieben" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abgetretenabbgetreten · abegtreten · abgerteten · abgeterten · abgetreetn · abgetretenn · abgetretne · abgetretten
  • abgetriebenabbgetrieben · abegtrieben · abgertieben · abgetireben · abgetreiben · abgetribeen · abgetriebben · abgetriebenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abgetreten" and "abgetrieben" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapɡəˌtʁeːtn̩] versus [ˈapɡəˌtʁiːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abgetreten" or "abgetrieben"?
"abgetreten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,045 in our German list, against #45,736 for "abgetrieben". 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 "abgetreten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abgetrieben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #351,146 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abgetreten" and "abgetrieben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgetrennten vs abgetreten". 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 #351,146 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