ablesenvsabreisenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#14,225
“ablesen” frequency rank
#39,187
“abreisen” frequency rank
53412
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ablesen abreisen
Definition einen Wert festhalten eine Reise von einem bestimmten Punkt aus, zu einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt aus antreten

Where the eye mixes ablesen and abreisen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ablesen runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against abreisen's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
ablesen
8 ch
abreisen

Why the eye confuses ablesen with abreisen

A purely visual mix-up. ablesen ([ˈapˌleːzn̩]) and abreisen ([ˈapˌʁaɪ̯zn̩]) 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 53412, 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]. abreisen is at rank #39,187, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʁaɪ̯zn̩].

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 53412, this pair ranks #1,059,026 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ablesen vs abreisen

Shared letters: abens. Private to "ablesen": l. Private to "abreisen": ir.

"ablesen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "abreisen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ablesen ← abblesen · abelsen · ableesn · ablesenn · ablesne · ablessen · abllesen · ablseen
  • abreisen ← abbreisen · aberisen · abreiesn · abreisenn · abreisne · abreissen · abresien · abriesen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ablesen" and "abreisen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌleːzn̩] versus [ˈapˌʁaɪ̯zn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ablesen" or "abreisen"?
"ablesen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,225 in our German list, against #39,187 for "abreisen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ablesen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abreisen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,059,026 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ablesen" and "abreisen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgreifen vs abreisen". 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 #1,059,026 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