abladenvsabratenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,620
“abladen” frequency rank
#41,622
“abraten” frequency rank
83242
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abladen abraten
Definition eine Ladung von einem Ort (zum Beispiel einem Transportfahrzeug) entfernen oder herunterheben jemandem raten, etwas nicht zu tun

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
abladen
7 ch
abraten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abladen ([ˈapˌlaːdn̩]) and abraten ([ˈapˌʁaːtn̩]) 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 83242, 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]. abraten is at rank #41,622, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʁaːtn̩].

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 83242, this pair ranks #143,208 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abladen vs abraten

Shared letters: aben. Private to "abladen": dl. Private to "abraten": rt.

"abladen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "abraten" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abladenabalden · abbladen · abladden · abladenn · abladne · ablaedn · abldaen · albaden
  • abratenabarten · abbraten · abraetn · abratenn · abratne · abratten · abrraten · abrtaen

Frequency comparison

abladen#41,620
abraten#41,622

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abladen" and "abraten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌlaːdn̩] versus [ˈapˌʁaːtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abladen" or "abraten"?
"abladen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #41,620 in our German list, against #41,622 for "abraten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abladen vs abraten

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 “abladen” 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