abhebenvsanhabenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#12,850
“abheben” frequency rank
#24,606
“anhaben” frequency rank
37456
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abheben anhaben
Definition etwas von etwas anderem, zum Beispiel auch einer Unterlage oder einem Unterteil, herunternehmen ein Kleidungsstück am Körper tragen

Where the eye mixes abheben and anhaben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. abheben and anhaben follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
abheben
7 ch
anhaben

Visual trap between abheben and anhaben

A purely visual mix-up. abheben ([ˈapˌheːbn̩]) and anhaben ([ˈanˌhaːbn̩]) 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 37456, 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]. anhaben is at rank #24,606, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌhaːbn̩].

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 37456, this pair ranks #1,589,773 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abheben vs anhaben

Shared letters: abehn. Private to "abheben": -. Private to "anhaben": -.

"abheben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "anhaben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abheben ← abbheben · abehben · abhbeen · abhebben · abhebenn · abhebne · abheebn · abhheben
  • anhaben ← ahnaben · anahben · anhabben · anhabenn · anhabne · anhaebn · anhbaen · anhhaben

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "abheben" and "anhaben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌheːbn̩] versus [ˈanˌhaːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abheben" vs "anhaben" - which ranks higher?
"abheben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,850 in our German list, against #24,606 for "anhaben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abheben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "anhaben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,589,773 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abheben" and "anhaben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abhaken vs anhaben". 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 #1,589,773 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list