abreisenvsabtreibenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,187
“abreisen” frequency rank
#43,685
“abtreiben” frequency rank
82872
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abreisen abtreiben
Definition eine Reise von einem bestimmten Punkt aus, zu einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt aus antreten etwas oder jemanden, welches oder welcher sich fliegend oder schwimmend bewegt, von einer Richtung ablenken

Where the eye mixes abreisen and abtreiben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. abreisen runs 8 letters (VCCVVCVC) against abtreiben's 9 (VCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
abreisen
9 ch
abtreiben

Visual trap between abreisen and abtreiben

A purely visual mix-up. abreisen ([ˈapˌʁaɪ̯zn̩]) and abtreiben ([ˈapˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]) 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 82872, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abreisen is recorded at frequency rank #39,187, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʁaɪ̯zn̩]. abtreiben is at rank #43,685, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩].

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 82872, this pair ranks #149,513 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abreisen vs abtreiben

Shared letters: abeinr. Private to "abreisen": s. Private to "abtreiben": t.

"abreisen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC  ·  "abtreiben" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abreisen ← abbreisen · aberisen · abreiesn · abreisenn · abreisne · abreissen · abresien · abriesen
  • abtreiben ← abbtreiben · abrteiben · abteriben · abtrebien · abtreibben · abtreibenn · abtreibne · abtreiebn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "abreisen" and "abtreiben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌʁaɪ̯zn̩] versus [ˈapˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abreisen" vs "abtreiben" - which ranks higher?
"abreisen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,187 in our German list, against #43,685 for "abtreiben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abreisen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abtreiben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #149,513 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abreisen" and "abtreiben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgreifen vs abtreiben". 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 #149,513 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