Which to use
“abholen” and “ablösen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,792
- “abholen” frequency rank
- #20,483
- “ablösen” frequency rank
- 26275
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abholen | ablösen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von einem Ort nehmen, um es (mit sich) an einen anderen zu bringen | eine Aufgabe für jemanden übernehmen, jemanden ersetzen |
Where the eye mixes abholen and ablösen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. abholen and ablösen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between abholen and ablösen
A purely visual mix-up. abholen ([ˈapˌhoːlən]) and ablösen ([ˈapˌløːzn̩]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26275, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abholen is recorded at frequency rank #5,792, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌhoːlən]. ablösen is at rank #20,483, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌløːzn̩].
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 26275, this pair ranks #1,820,575 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abholen vs ablösen
Shared letters: abeln. Private to "abholen": ho. Private to "ablösen": sö.
"abholen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "ablösen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abholen ← abbholen · abhholen · abhloen · abhoeln · abholenn · abhollen · abholne · abohlen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abholen" and "ablösen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "abholen" or "ablösen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abholen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ablösen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,820,575 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abholen" and "ablösen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ablösen vs abzulösen". 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 #1,820,575 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.