AbreisevsAmeiseTell them apart

Which to use

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

#11,582
“Abreise” frequency rank
#41,011
“Ameise” frequency rank
52593
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abreise Ameise
Definition Beginn einer Reise von einem Ort weg staatenbildendes Insekt der Familie Formicidae

Where the eye mixes Abreise and Ameise

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Abreise runs 7 letters (VCCVVCV) against Ameise's 6 (VCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Abreise
6 ch
Ameise

Why the eye confuses Abreise with Ameise

A purely visual mix-up. Abreise ([ˈapˌʁaɪ̯zə]) and Ameise ([ˈaːmaɪ̯zə]) 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 52593, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abreise is recorded at frequency rank #11,582, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌʁaɪ̯zə]. Ameise is at rank #41,011, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaːmaɪ̯zə].

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 52593, this pair ranks #1,090,743 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Abreise vs Ameise

Shared letters: aeis. Private to "Abreise": br. Private to "Ameise": m.

"Abreise" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV  ·  "Ameise" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abreise ← abbreise · aberise · abreies · abreisse · abresie · abriese · abrreise · arbeise
  • Ameise ← aemise · ameies · ameisse · amesie · amiese · ammeise · maeise

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Abreise" for "Ameise" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌʁaɪ̯zə] versus [ˈaːmaɪ̯zə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Abreise" vs "Ameise" - which ranks higher?
"Abreise" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,582 in our German list, against #41,011 for "Ameise". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Abreise" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ameise" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,090,743 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Abreise" and "Ameise" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abrede vs Abreise". 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 #1,090,743 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