Which to use
“abkühlen” and “abzuholen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,477
- “abkühlen” frequency rank
- #16,346
- “abzuholen” frequency rank
- 35823
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abkühlen | abzuholen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von höherer Temperatur zu tieferer bringen | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abholen |
Where the eye mixes abkühlen and abzuholen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abkühlen runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against abzuholen's 9 (VCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: abkühlen vs abzuholen
A purely visual mix-up. abkühlen ([ˈapˌkyːlən]) and abzuholen ([ˈapt͡suˌhoːlən]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35823, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abkühlen is recorded at frequency rank #19,477, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌkyːlən]. abzuholen is at rank #16,346, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌhoːlən].
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 35823, this pair ranks #1,630,650 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abkühlen vs abzuholen
Shared letters: abehln. Private to "abkühlen": kü. Private to "abzuholen": ouz.
"abkühlen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "abzuholen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abzuholen ← abbzuholen · abuzholen · abzhuolen · abzuhholen · abzuhloen · abzuhoeln · abzuholenn · abzuhollen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abkühlen" for "abzuholen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "abkühlen" or "abzuholen" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "abkühlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abzuholen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,630,650 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abkühlen" and "abzuholen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzuholen 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 #1,630,650 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.