Which to use
“abheben” and “abhören” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,850
- “abheben” frequency rank
- #27,172
- “abhören” frequency rank
- 40022
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abheben | abhören |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas von etwas anderem, zum Beispiel auch einer Unterlage oder einem Unterteil, herunternehmen | Gelerntes aufsagen lassen und dadurch den Erfolg kontrollieren |
Where the eye mixes abheben and abhören
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. abheben and abhören follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between abheben and abhören
A purely visual mix-up. abheben ([ˈapˌheːbn̩]) and abhören ([ˈapˌhøːʁən]) 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 40022, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abheben is recorded at frequency rank #12,850, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌheːbn̩]. abhören is at rank #27,172, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌhøːʁən].
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 40022, this pair ranks #1,520,207 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abheben vs abhören
Shared letters: abehn. Private to "abheben": -. Private to "abhören": rö.
"abheben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "abhören" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abheben ← abbheben · abehben · abhbeen · abhebben · abhebenn · abhebne · abheebn · abhheben
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abheben" for "abhören" ever safe?
Which is more common, "abheben" or "abhören"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "abheben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abhören" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,520,207 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abheben" and "abhören" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abhören vs Azoren". 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 #1,520,207 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.