Which to use
“ablehnen” and “abnehmen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,856
- “ablehnen” frequency rank
- #4,758
- “abnehmen” frequency rank
- 12614
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ablehnen | abnehmen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zu etwas nein sagen; etwas zurückweisen oder missbilligen | von einer Stelle entfernen |
Where the eye mixes ablehnen and abnehmen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ablehnen and abnehmen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between ablehnen and abnehmen
A purely visual mix-up. ablehnen ([ˈapˌleːnən]) and abnehmen ([ˈapˌneːmən]) 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 12614, 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]. abnehmen is at rank #4,758, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌneːmən].
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 12614, this pair ranks #1,963,108 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ablehnen vs abnehmen
Shared letters: abehn. Private to "ablehnen": l. Private to "abnehmen": m.
"ablehnen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "abnehmen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ablehnen" for "abnehmen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ablehnen" or "abnehmen"?
Useful next steps
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 "abnehmen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,963,108 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ablehnen" and "abnehmen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ablehnen 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 #1,963,108 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.