abhebenvsanhebenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,850
“abheben” frequency rank
#18,469
“anheben” frequency rank
31319
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abheben anheben
Definition etwas von etwas anderem, zum Beispiel auch einer Unterlage oder einem Unterteil, herunternehmen ein wenig in die Höhe heben

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
abheben
7 ch
anheben

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abheben ([ˈapˌheːbn̩]) and anheben ([ˈanˌheːbn̩]) 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 a single letter - b in “abheben” becomes n in “anheben”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31319, 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]. anheben is at rank #18,469, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌheːbn̩].

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 31319, this pair ranks #1,730,528 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abheben vs anheben

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

"abheben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "anheben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abhebenabbheben · abehben · abhbeen · abhebben · abhebenn · abhebne · abheebn · abhheben
  • anhebenahneben · anehben · anhbeen · anhebben · anhebenn · anhebne · anheebn · anhheben

Frequency comparison

abheben#12,850
anheben#18,469

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abheben" and "anheben" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌheːbn̩] versus [ˈanˌheːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abheben" or "anheben"?
"abheben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,850 in our German list, against #18,469 for "anheben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abheben vs anheben

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 “abheben” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list