Which to use
“ablaufen” and “abrufen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,298
- “ablaufen” frequency rank
- #19,110
- “abrufen” frequency rank
- 32408
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ablaufen | abrufen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zu laufen beginnen | auf Daten zugreifen |
Where the eye mixes ablaufen and abrufen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ablaufen runs 8 letters (VCCVVCVC) against abrufen's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: ablaufen vs abrufen
A purely visual mix-up. ablaufen ([ˈapˌlaʊ̯fn̩]) and abrufen ([ˈapˌʁuːfn̩]) 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 32408, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ablaufen is recorded at frequency rank #13,298, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌlaʊ̯fn̩]. abrufen is at rank #19,110, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʁuːfn̩].
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 32408, this pair ranks #1,708,230 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ablaufen vs abrufen
Shared letters: abefnu. Private to "ablaufen": l. Private to "abrufen": r.
"ablaufen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC · "abrufen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ablaufen" and "abrufen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "ablaufen" or "abrufen"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ablaufen" and "abrufen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ablaufen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abrufen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,708,230 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ablaufen" and "abrufen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abräumen vs abrufen". 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 #1,708,230 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.