Which to use
“ablehnen” and “abwehren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,856
- “ablehnen” frequency rank
- #26,288
- “abwehren” frequency rank
- 34144
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ablehnen | abwehren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zu etwas nein sagen; etwas zurückweisen oder missbilligen | etwas oder jemanden zurückschlagen, um auf einen Angriff zu reagieren |
Where the eye mixes ablehnen and abwehren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ablehnen and abwehren follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: ablehnen vs abwehren
A purely visual mix-up. ablehnen ([ˈapˌleːnən]) and abwehren ([ˈapˌveːʁən]) 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 34144, 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]. abwehren is at rank #26,288, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌveːʁən].
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 34144, this pair ranks #1,670,072 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ablehnen vs abwehren
Shared letters: abehn. Private to "ablehnen": l. Private to "abwehren": rw.
"ablehnen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "abwehren" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ablehnen" and "abwehren" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "ablehnen" or "abwehren" show up more?
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 "abwehren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,670,072 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ablehnen" and "abwehren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abwehren vs abweisen". 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 #1,670,072 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.