Which to use
“ablösen” is a verb and “Ablösung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,483
- “ablösen” frequency rank
- #17,489
- “Ablösung” frequency rank
- 37972
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ablösen | Ablösung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Aufgabe für jemanden übernehmen, jemanden ersetzen | (bei der Arbeit) die Tätigkeit und das Ereignis, wenn eine Schicht wechselt |
Where the eye mixes ablösen and Ablösung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ablösen runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against Ablösung's 8 (VCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: ablösen vs Ablösung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ablösen is [ˈapˌløːzn̩] while Ablösung is [ˈapˌløːzʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37972, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ablösen is recorded at frequency rank #20,483, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌløːzn̩]. Ablösung is at rank #17,489, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌløːzʊŋ].
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 37972, this pair ranks #1,576,239 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ablösen vs Ablösung
Shared letters: ablnsö. Private to "ablösen": e. Private to "Ablösung": gu.
"ablösen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "Ablösung" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ablösen" for "Ablösung" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ablösen" or "Ablösung"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ablösen" and "Ablösung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ablösen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ablösung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,576,239 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ablösen" and "Ablösung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ablösen vs abzulösen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,576,239 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.