Which to use
“abraten” and “abtreten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,622
- “abraten” frequency rank
- #20,152
- “abtreten” frequency rank
- 61774
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abraten | abtreten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem raten, etwas nicht zu tun | mit einem Tritt entfernen |
Where the eye mixes abraten and abtreten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abraten runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against abtreten's 8 (VCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abraten with abtreten
A purely visual mix-up. abraten ([ˈapˌʁaːtn̩]) and abtreten ([ˈapˌtʁeːtn̩]) 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 61774, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abraten is recorded at frequency rank #41,622, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʁaːtn̩]. abtreten is at rank #20,152, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌtʁeːtn̩].
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 61774, this pair ranks #737,210 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abraten vs abtreten
Shared letters: abenrt. Private to "abraten": -. Private to "abtreten": -.
"abraten" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "abtreten" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abraten" and "abtreten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "abraten" or "abtreten"?
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 "abraten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abtreten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #737,210 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abraten" and "abtreten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abraten vs abtragen". 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 #737,210 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.