Which to use
“ablehnen” and “abzulehnen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,856
- “ablehnen” frequency rank
- #15,808
- “abzulehnen” frequency rank
- 23664
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ablehnen | abzulehnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zu etwas nein sagen; etwas zurückweisen oder missbilligen | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs ablehnen |
Where the eye mixes ablehnen and abzulehnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. ablehnen runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against abzulehnen's 10 (VCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between ablehnen and abzulehnen
A purely visual mix-up. ablehnen ([ˈapˌleːnən]) and abzulehnen ([ˈapt͡suˌleːnən]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23664, 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]. abzulehnen is at rank #15,808, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌleːnən].
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 23664, this pair ranks #1,858,277 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ablehnen vs abzulehnen
Shared letters: abehln. Private to "ablehnen": -. Private to "abzulehnen": uz.
"ablehnen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "abzulehnen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ablehnen ← abblehnen · abelhnen · ablehenn · ablehhnen · ablehnenn · ablehnne · ablehnnen · ablenhen
- abzulehnen ← abbzulehnen · abuzlehnen · abzluehnen · abzuelhnen · abzulehenn · abzulehhnen · abzulehnenn · abzulehnne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ablehnen" for "abzulehnen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ablehnen" vs "abzulehnen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "ablehnen" and "abzulehnen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ablehnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abzulehnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,858,277 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ablehnen" and "abzulehnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzulehnen vs abzulesen". 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 #1,858,277 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.