ablehnevsablehnenTell them apart

Which to use

“ablehne” and “ablehnen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#46,442
“ablehne” frequency rank
#7,856
“ablehnen” frequency rank
54298
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ablehne ablehnen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs ablehnen zu etwas nein sagen; etwas zurückweisen oder missbilligen

Where the eye mixes ablehne and ablehnen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. ablehne runs 7 letters (VCCVCCV) against ablehnen's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
ablehne
8 ch
ablehnen

Visual trap between ablehne and ablehnen

A purely visual mix-up. ablehne ([ˈapˌleːnə]) and ablehnen ([ˈapˌleːnən]) 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 extra letter(s) - “ablehne” sits inside “ablehnen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54298, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ablehne is recorded at frequency rank #46,442, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌleːnə]. ablehnen is at rank #7,856, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌleːnən].

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 54298, this pair ranks #1,024,275 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ablehne vs ablehnen

Shared letters: abehln. Private to "ablehne": -. Private to "ablehnen": -.

"ablehne" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "ablehnen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ablehne ← abblehne · abelhne · ablehen · ablehhne · ablenhe · ablhene · abllehne · albehne
  • ablehnen ← abblehnen · abelhnen · ablehenn · ablehhnen · ablehnenn · ablehnne · ablehnnen · ablenhen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ablehne" and "ablehnen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌleːnə] versus [ˈapˌleːnən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ablehne" or "ablehnen"?
"ablehnen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,856 in our German list, against #46,442 for "ablehne". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "ablehne" and "ablehnen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ablehne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ablehnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,024,275 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ablehne" and "ablehnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ablehne vs ablehnten". 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 #1,024,275 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list