ablaufenvsAnläufeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ablaufen is a verb, Anläufe is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ablaufen” is a verb and “Anläufe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,298
“ablaufen” frequency rank
#48,704
“Anläufe” frequency rank
62002
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ablaufen Anläufe
Definition zu laufen beginnen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Anlauf

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
ablaufen
7 ch
Anläufe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ablaufen is [ˈapˌlaʊ̯fn̩] while Anläufe is [ˈanlɔɪ̯fə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62002, 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]. Anläufe is at rank #48,704, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanlɔɪ̯fə].

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 62002, this pair ranks #728,837 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ablaufen vs Anläufe

Shared letters: aeflnu. Private to "ablaufen": b. Private to "Anläufe": ä.

"ablaufen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC  ·  "Anläufe" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ablaufenabalufen · abblaufen · ablafuen · ablauefn · ablaufenn · ablauffen · ablaufne · abllaufen

Frequency comparison

ablaufen#13,298
Anläufe#48,704

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ablaufen" and "Anläufe" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ablaufen" is a verb and "Anläufe" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ablaufen" or "Anläufe"?
"ablaufen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,298 in our German list, against #48,704 for "Anläufe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ablaufen vs Anläufe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “ablaufen”; for a noun, it's “Anläufe”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ablaufen” 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