AblehnungvsAbrechnungWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,055
“Ablehnung” frequency rank
#12,015
“Abrechnung” frequency rank
17070
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ablehnung Abrechnung
Definition negative Reaktion auf eine Sache oder eine Person; Zurückweisung oder Abneigung gegen etwas Berechnung von Kosten, Aufwand, Verbräuchen, Mengen

Where the eye mixes Ablehnung and Abrechnung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Ablehnung runs 9 letters (VCCVCCVCC) against Abrechnung's 10 (VCCVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
Ablehnung
10 ch
Abrechnung

Visual trap between Ablehnung and Abrechnung

A purely visual mix-up. Ablehnung ([ˈapˌleːnʊŋ]) and Abrechnung ([ˈapˌʁɛçnʊŋ]) 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 17070, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ablehnung is recorded at frequency rank #5,055, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌleːnʊŋ]. Abrechnung is at rank #12,015, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌʁɛçnʊŋ].

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 17070, this pair ranks #1,930,615 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Ablehnung vs Abrechnung

Shared letters: abeghnu. Private to "Ablehnung": l. Private to "Abrechnung": cr.

"Ablehnung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC  ·  "Abrechnung" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Ablehnung ← abblehnung · abelhnung · ablehhnung · ablehnnug · ablehnnung · ablehnugn · ablehnungg · ablehnunng
  • Abrechnung ← abbrechnung · aberchnung · abrcehnung · abrecchnung · abrechhnung · abrechnnug · abrechnnung · abrechnugn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Ablehnung" and "Abrechnung" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌleːnʊŋ] versus [ˈapˌʁɛçnʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Ablehnung" or "Abrechnung"?
"Ablehnung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,055 in our German list, against #12,015 for "Abrechnung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Ablehnung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Abrechnung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,930,615 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ablehnung" and "Abrechnung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abrechnung vs Abrechnungen". 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 #1,930,615 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