Which to use
“ablassen” and “anfassen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,281
- “ablassen” frequency rank
- #10,037
- “anfassen” frequency rank
- 36318
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ablassen | anfassen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Sache nicht weiter verfolgen | mit der Hand oder den Fingern absichtlich berühren |
Where the eye mixes ablassen and anfassen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ablassen and anfassen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between ablassen and anfassen
A purely visual mix-up. ablassen ([ˈapˌlasn̩]) and anfassen ([ˈanˌfasn̩]) 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 36318, 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]. anfassen is at rank #10,037, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌfasn̩].
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 36318, this pair ranks #1,618,594 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ablassen vs anfassen
Shared letters: aens. Private to "ablassen": bl. Private to "anfassen": f.
"ablassen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "anfassen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ablassen" for "anfassen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ablassen" vs "anfassen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ablassen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "anfassen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,618,594 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ablassen" and "anfassen" 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 #1,618,594 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.