abreisenvsAmeisenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: abreisen is a verb, Ameisen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“abreisen” is a verb and “Ameisen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#39,187
“abreisen” frequency rank
#15,290
“Ameisen” frequency rank
54477
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abreisen Ameisen
Definition eine Reise von einem bestimmten Punkt aus, zu einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt aus antreten Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Ameise

Where the eye mixes abreisen and Ameisen

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

8 ch
abreisen
7 ch
Ameisen

Why the eye confuses abreisen with Ameisen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abreisen is [ˈapˌʁaɪ̯zn̩] while Ameisen is [ˈaːmaɪ̯zn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54477, 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]. Ameisen is at rank #15,290, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaːmaɪ̯zn̩].

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 54477, this pair ranks #1,017,363 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abreisen vs Ameisen

Shared letters: aeins. Private to "abreisen": br. Private to "Ameisen": m.

"abreisen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC  ·  "Ameisen" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abreisen ← abbreisen · aberisen · abreiesn · abreisenn · abreisne · abreissen · abresien · abriesen
  • Ameisen ← aemisen · ameiesn · ameisenn · ameisne · ameissen · amesien · amiesen · ammeisen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abreisen" for "Ameisen" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "abreisen" is a verb and "Ameisen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "abreisen" or "Ameisen"?
"Ameisen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,290 in our German list, against #39,187 for "abreisen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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 "Ameisen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,017,363 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abreisen" and "Ameisen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgreifen vs abreisen". 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 #1,017,363 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