Which to use
“ablesen” and “ablösen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,225
- “ablesen” frequency rank
- #20,483
- “ablösen” frequency rank
- 34708
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ablesen | ablösen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen Wert festhalten | eine Aufgabe für jemanden übernehmen, jemanden ersetzen |
Where the eye mixes ablesen and ablösen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ablesen and ablösen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses ablesen with ablösen
A purely visual mix-up. ablesen ([ˈapˌleːzn̩]) and ablösen ([ˈapˌløːzn̩]) 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 a single letter - e in “ablesen” becomes ö in “ablösen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34708, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ablesen is recorded at frequency rank #14,225, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌleːzn̩]. ablösen is at rank #20,483, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌløːzn̩].
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 34708, this pair ranks #1,657,174 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ablesen vs ablösen
Shared letters: abelns. Private to "ablesen": -. Private to "ablösen": ö.
"ablesen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "ablösen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ablesen ← abblesen · abelsen · ableesn · ablesenn · ablesne · ablessen · abllesen · ablseen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ablesen" and "ablösen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "ablesen" vs "ablösen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ablesen" and "ablösen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ablesen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ablösen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,657,174 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ablesen" and "ablösen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ablösen vs abzulösen". 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 #1,657,174 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.