abhauenvsablaufenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,868
“abhauen” frequency rank
#13,298
“ablaufen” frequency rank
39166
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abhauen ablaufen
Definition etwas abschlagen, abtrennen (starke und schwache Konjugation: hieb/haute ab und abgehauen/abgehaut) zu laufen beginnen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abhauen and ablaufen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
abhauen
8 ch
ablaufen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abhauen ([ˈapˌhaʊ̯ən]) and ablaufen ([ˈapˌlaʊ̯fn̩]) 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 39166, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abhauen is recorded at frequency rank #25,868, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌhaʊ̯ən]. ablaufen is at rank #13,298, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌlaʊ̯fn̩].

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 39166, this pair ranks #1,544,296 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abhauen vs ablaufen

Shared letters: abenu. Private to "abhauen": h. Private to "ablaufen": fl.

"abhauen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVVC  ·  "ablaufen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abhauenabahuen · abbhauen · abhaeun · abhauenn · abhaune · abhhauen · abhuaen · ahbauen
  • ablaufenabalufen · abblaufen · ablafuen · ablauefn · ablaufenn · ablauffen · ablaufne · abllaufen

Frequency comparison

abhauen#25,868
ablaufen#13,298

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abhauen" and "ablaufen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌhaʊ̯ən] versus [ˈapˌlaʊ̯fn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abhauen" or "ablaufen"?
"ablaufen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,298 in our German list, against #25,868 for "abhauen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abhauen vs ablaufen

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 “abhauen” 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