abnehmenvsannehmeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,758
“abnehmen” frequency rank
#32,905
“annehme” frequency rank
37663
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abnehmen annehme
Definition von einer Stelle entfernen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs annehmen

Where the eye mixes abnehmen and annehme

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

8 ch
abnehmen
7 ch
annehme

Look-alike desk: abnehmen vs annehme

A purely visual mix-up. abnehmen ([ˈapˌneːmən]) and annehme ([ˈanˌneːmə]) 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 37663, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abnehmen is recorded at frequency rank #4,758, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌneːmən]. annehme is at rank #32,905, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌneːmə].

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 37663, this pair ranks #1,584,287 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abnehmen vs annehme

Shared letters: aehmn. Private to "abnehmen": b. Private to "annehme": -.

"abnehmen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "annehme" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abnehmen ← abbnehmen · abenhmen · abnehemn · abnehhmen · abnehmenn · abnehmmen · abnehmne · abnemhen
  • annehme ← anehme · anenhme · annehem · annehhme · annehmme · annemhe · annheme · nanehme

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abnehmen" for "annehme" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌneːmən] versus [ˈanˌneːmə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abnehmen" or "annehme"?
"abnehmen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,758 in our German list, against #32,905 for "annehme". 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 "abnehmen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "annehme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,584,287 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abnehmen" and "annehme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "annahm vs annehme". 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 #1,584,287 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