abhakenvsabsagenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,894
“abhaken” frequency rank
#10,793
“absagen” frequency rank
43687
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abhaken absagen
Definition mit einem Häkchen versehen etwas Angekündigtes widerrufen, eine Veranstaltung oder sonstiges nicht stattfinden lassen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abhaken and absagen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
abhaken
7 ch
absagen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abhaken ([ˈapˌhaːkn̩]) and absagen ([ˈapˌzaːɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43687, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abhaken is recorded at frequency rank #32,894, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌhaːkn̩]. absagen is at rank #10,793, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌzaːɡn̩].

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 43687, this pair ranks #1,410,123 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abhaken vs absagen

Shared letters: aben. Private to "abhaken": hk. Private to "absagen": gs.

"abhaken" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "absagen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abhakenabahken · abbhaken · abhaekn · abhakenn · abhakken · abhakne · abhhaken · abhkaen
  • absagenabasgen · abbsagen · absaegn · absagenn · absaggen · absagne · absgaen · abssagen

Frequency comparison

abhaken#32,894
absagen#10,793

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abhaken" and "absagen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌhaːkn̩] versus [ˈapˌzaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abhaken" or "absagen"?
"absagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,793 in our German list, against #32,894 for "abhaken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abhaken vs absagen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “abhaken” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list