Which to use
“abräumen” and “absaugen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,682
- “abräumen” frequency rank
- #46,445
- “absaugen” frequency rank
- 90127
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abräumen | absaugen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gegenstände von einer Oberfläche entfernen | einen Stoff mittels Unterdruck aus einem Raum oder einem anderen Stoff entfernen |
Where the eye mixes abräumen and absaugen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. abräumen and absaugen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses abräumen with absaugen
A purely visual mix-up. abräumen ([ˈapˌʁɔɪ̯mən]) and absaugen ([ˈapˌzaʊ̯ɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 90127, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abräumen is recorded at frequency rank #43,682, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʁɔɪ̯mən]. absaugen is at rank #46,445, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌzaʊ̯ɡn̩].
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 90127, this pair ranks #50,160 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of abräumen vs absaugen
Shared letters: abenu. Private to "abräumen": mrä. Private to "absaugen": gs.
"abräumen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC · "absaugen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- absaugen ← abasugen · abbsaugen · absaguen · absauegn · absaugenn · absauggen · absaugne · abssaugen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abräumen" for "absaugen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "abräumen" or "absaugen"?
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 "abräumen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "absaugen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #50,160 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abräumen" and "absaugen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "absaugen vs abstauben". 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 #50,160 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.