absagenvsabsehenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,793
“absagen” frequency rank
#26,726
“absehen” frequency rank
37519
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature absagen absehen
Definition etwas Angekündigtes widerrufen, eine Veranstaltung oder sonstiges nicht stattfinden lassen (zukünftige Ereignisse) voraussehen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set absagen and absehen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
absagen
7 ch
absehen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. absagen ([ˈapˌzaːɡn̩]) and absehen ([ˈapˌz̥eːən]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37519, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

absagen is recorded at frequency rank #10,793, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌzaːɡn̩]. absehen is at rank #26,726, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌz̥eːən].

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 37519, this pair ranks #1,588,105 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of absagen vs absehen

Shared letters: abens. Private to "absagen": g. Private to "absehen": h.

"absagen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "absehen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • absagenabasgen · abbsagen · absaegn · absagenn · absaggen · absagne · absgaen · abssagen
  • absehenabbsehen · abeshen · abseehn · absehenn · absehhen · absehne · absheen · abssehen

Frequency comparison

absagen#10,793
absehen#26,726

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "absagen" and "absehen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌzaːɡn̩] versus [ˈapˌz̥eːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "absagen" or "absehen"?
"absagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,793 in our German list, against #26,726 for "absehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering absagen vs absehen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “absagen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list