ablehntenvsablenkenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#49,440
“ablehnten” frequency rank
#12,014
“ablenken” frequency rank
61454
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ablehnten ablenken
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs ablehnen die Aufmerksamkeit auf etwas anderes lenken

Where the eye mixes ablehnten and ablenken

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. ablehnten runs 9 letters (VCCVCCCVC) against ablenken's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
ablehnten
8 ch
ablenken

Look-alike desk: ablehnten vs ablenken

A purely visual mix-up. ablehnten ([ˈapˌleːntn̩]) and ablenken ([ˈapˌlɛŋkn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61454, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ablehnten is recorded at frequency rank #49,440, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌleːntn̩]. ablenken is at rank #12,014, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌlɛŋkn̩].

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 61454, this pair ranks #749,152 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ablehnten vs ablenken

Shared letters: abeln. Private to "ablehnten": ht. Private to "ablenken": k.

"ablehnten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC  ·  "ablenken" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ablehnten ← abblehnten · abelhnten · ablehhnten · ablehnetn · ablehnnten · ablehntenn · ablehntne · ablehntten
  • ablenken ← abblenken · abelnken · ableknen · ablenekn · ablenkenn · ablenkken · ablenkne · ablennken

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ablehnten" and "ablenken" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌleːntn̩] versus [ˈapˌlɛŋkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ablehnten" vs "ablenken" - which ranks higher?
"ablenken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,014 in our German list, against #49,440 for "ablehnten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "ablehnten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ablenken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #749,152 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ablehnten" and "ablenken" 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 #749,152 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