abhauenvsabsaugenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,868
“abhauen” frequency rank
#46,445
“absaugen” frequency rank
72313
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abhauen absaugen
Definition etwas abschlagen, abtrennen (starke und schwache Konjugation: hieb/haute ab und abgehauen/abgehaut) einen Stoff mittels Unterdruck aus einem Raum oder einem anderen Stoff entfernen

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
abhauen
8 ch
absaugen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abhauen ([ˈapˌhaʊ̯ən]) and absaugen ([ˈapˌzaʊ̯ɡn̩]) 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 72313, 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]. absaugen is at rank #46,445, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌzaʊ̯ɡn̩].

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 72313, this pair ranks #391,829 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abhauen vs absaugen

Shared letters: abenu. Private to "abhauen": h. Private to "absaugen": gs.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abhauenabahuen · abbhauen · abhaeun · abhauenn · abhaune · abhhauen · abhuaen · ahbauen
  • absaugenabasugen · abbsaugen · absaguen · absauegn · absaugenn · absauggen · absaugne · abssaugen

Frequency comparison

abhauen#25,868
absaugen#46,445

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abhauen" and "absaugen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌhaʊ̯ən] versus [ˈapˌzaʊ̯ɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abhauen" or "absaugen"?
"abhauen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,868 in our German list, against #46,445 for "absaugen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abhauen vs absaugen

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