Which to use
“ablehnen” is a verb and “ablehnende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,856
- “ablehnen” frequency rank
- #38,553
- “ablehnende” frequency rank
- 46409
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ablehnen | ablehnende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zu etwas nein sagen; etwas zurückweisen oder missbilligen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs ablehnend |
Where the eye mixes ablehnen and ablehnende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. ablehnen runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against ablehnende's 10 (VCCVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ablehnen with ablehnende
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ablehnen is [ˈapˌleːnən] while ablehnende is [ˈapˌleːnəndə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “ablehnen” sits inside “ablehnende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46409, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ablehnen is recorded at frequency rank #7,856, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌleːnən]. ablehnende is at rank #38,553, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈapˌleːnəndə].
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 46409, this pair ranks #1,320,116 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ablehnen vs ablehnende
Shared letters: abehln. Private to "ablehnen": -. Private to "ablehnende": d.
"ablehnen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "ablehnende" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- ablehnen ← abblehnen · abelhnen · ablehenn · ablehhnen · ablehnenn · ablehnne · ablehnnen · ablenhen
- ablehnende ← abblehnende · abelhnende · ablehennde · ablehhnende · ablehnedne · ablehnendde · ablehnened · ablehnennde
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ablehnen" and "ablehnende" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "ablehnen" vs "ablehnende" - which ranks higher?
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 "ablehnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ablehnende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,320,116 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ablehnen" and "ablehnende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ablehnend vs ablehnende". 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 #1,320,116 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.