Which to use
“ablassen” and “ablesen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,281
- “ablassen” frequency rank
- #14,225
- “ablesen” frequency rank
- 40506
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ablassen | ablesen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Sache nicht weiter verfolgen | einen Wert festhalten |
Where the eye mixes ablassen and ablesen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ablassen runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against ablesen's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ablassen with ablesen
A purely visual mix-up. ablassen ([ˈapˌlasn̩]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40506, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ablassen is recorded at frequency rank #26,281, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌlasn̩]. 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 40506, this pair ranks #1,506,482 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ablassen vs ablesen
Shared letters: abelns. Private to "ablassen": -. Private to "ablesen": -.
"ablassen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "ablesen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ablassen" and "ablesen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "ablassen" or "ablesen"?
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 "ablassen" 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 #1,506,482 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ablassen" and "ablesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ablassen vs anlassen". 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 #1,506,482 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.