Which to use
“abhauen” and “anbauen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,868
- “abhauen” frequency rank
- #26,742
- “anbauen” frequency rank
- 52610
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abhauen | anbauen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas abschlagen, abtrennen (starke und schwache Konjugation: hieb/haute ab und abgehauen/abgehaut) | (etwas, ein zusätzliches Gebäudeteil) einem Gebäude hinzufügen |
Where the eye mixes abhauen and anbauen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abhauen and anbauen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses abhauen with anbauen
A purely visual mix-up. abhauen ([ˈapˌhaʊ̯ən]) and anbauen ([ˈanˌbaʊ̯ən]) 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 52610, 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]. anbauen is at rank #26,742, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌbaʊ̯ən].
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 52610, this pair ranks #1,090,113 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abhauen vs anbauen
Shared letters: abenu. Private to "abhauen": h. Private to "anbauen": -.
"abhauen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVVC · "anbauen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abhauen" for "anbauen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "abhauen" or "anbauen"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "abhauen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "anbauen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,090,113 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abhauen" and "anbauen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abhauen vs absaugen". 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 #1,090,113 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.