abhörenvsablösenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#27,172
“abhören” frequency rank
#20,483
“ablösen” frequency rank
47655
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abhören ablösen
Definition Gelerntes aufsagen lassen und dadurch den Erfolg kontrollieren eine Aufgabe für jemanden übernehmen, jemanden ersetzen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abhören and ablösen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
abhören
7 ch
ablösen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abhören ([ˈapˌhøːʁən]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47655, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abhören is recorded at frequency rank #27,172, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌhøːʁən]. 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 47655, this pair ranks #1,276,695 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abhören vs ablösen

Shared letters: abenö. Private to "abhören": hr. Private to "ablösen": ls.

"abhören" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "ablösen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

abhören#27,172
ablösen#20,483

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abhören" and "ablösen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌhøːʁən] versus [ˈapˌløːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abhören" or "ablösen"?
"ablösen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,483 in our German list, against #27,172 for "abhören". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abhören vs ablösen

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 “abhören” 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