abladenvsablesenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#41,620
“abladen” frequency rank
#14,225
“ablesen” frequency rank
55845
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abladen ablesen
Definition eine Ladung von einem Ort (zum Beispiel einem Transportfahrzeug) entfernen oder herunterheben einen Wert festhalten

Where the eye mixes abladen and ablesen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
abladen
7 ch
ablesen

Look-alike desk: abladen vs ablesen

A purely visual mix-up. abladen ([ˈapˌlaːdn̩]) and ablesen ([ˈapˌleːzn̩]) 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 55845, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abladen is recorded at frequency rank #41,620, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌlaːdn̩]. ablesen is at rank #14,225, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌleːzn̩].

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 55845, this pair ranks #963,449 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abladen vs ablesen

Shared letters: abeln. Private to "abladen": d. Private to "ablesen": s.

"abladen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "ablesen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abladenabalden · abbladen · abladden · abladenn · abladne · ablaedn · abldaen · albaden
  • ablesenabblesen · abelsen · ableesn · ablesenn · ablesne · ablessen · abllesen · ablseen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "abladen" and "ablesen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌlaːdn̩] versus [ˈapˌleːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abladen" or "ablesen"?
"ablesen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,225 in our German list, against #41,620 for "abladen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abladen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ablesen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #963,449 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abladen" and "ablesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgeladen vs abladen". 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 #963,449 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