Which to use
“ablaufen” and “absaugen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,298
- “ablaufen” frequency rank
- #46,445
- “absaugen” frequency rank
- 59743
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ablaufen | absaugen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zu laufen beginnen | einen Stoff mittels Unterdruck aus einem Raum oder einem anderen Stoff entfernen |
Where the eye mixes ablaufen and absaugen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ablaufen and absaugen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between ablaufen and absaugen
A purely visual mix-up. ablaufen ([ˈapˌlaʊ̯fn̩]) and absaugen ([ˈapˌzaʊ̯ɡn̩]) 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 59743, 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]. absaugen is at rank #46,445, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌzaʊ̯ɡn̩].
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 59743, this pair ranks #813,072 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ablaufen vs absaugen
Shared letters: abenu. Private to "ablaufen": fl. Private to "absaugen": gs.
"ablaufen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC · "absaugen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ablaufen" and "absaugen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "ablaufen" or "absaugen"?
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 "ablaufen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "absaugen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #813,072 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ablaufen" and "absaugen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "absaugen vs abstauben". 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 #813,072 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.