Which to use
“ablenken” and “abwenden” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,014
- “ablenken” frequency rank
- #18,145
- “abwenden” frequency rank
- 30159
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ablenken | abwenden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Aufmerksamkeit auf etwas anderes lenken | (sich) zur Seite wegdrehen; sich von jemandem zurückziehen |
Where the eye mixes ablenken and abwenden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ablenken and abwenden follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses ablenken with abwenden
A purely visual mix-up. ablenken ([ˈapˌlɛŋkn̩]) and abwenden ([ˈapˌvɛndn̩]) 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 30159, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ablenken is recorded at frequency rank #12,014, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌlɛŋkn̩]. abwenden is at rank #18,145, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌvɛndn̩].
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 30159, this pair ranks #1,753,275 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ablenken vs abwenden
Shared letters: aben. Private to "ablenken": kl. Private to "abwenden": dw.
"ablenken" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "abwenden" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ablenken" and "abwenden" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "ablenken" vs "abwenden" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ablenken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abwenden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,753,275 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ablenken" and "abwenden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abwenden vs Abwendung". 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 #1,753,275 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.