absagenvsabtragenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,793
“absagen” frequency rank
#49,443
“abtragen” frequency rank
60236
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature absagen abtragen
Definition etwas Angekündigtes widerrufen, eine Veranstaltung oder sonstiges nicht stattfinden lassen schichtweise entfernen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set absagen and abtragen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
absagen
8 ch
abtragen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. absagen ([ˈapˌzaːɡn̩]) and abtragen ([ˈapˌtʁaːɡn̩]) 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 60236, 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]. abtragen is at rank #49,443, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌtʁaːɡn̩].

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 60236, this pair ranks #794,561 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of absagen vs abtragen

Shared letters: abegn. Private to "absagen": s. Private to "abtragen": rt.

"absagen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "abtragen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • absagenabasgen · abbsagen · absaegn · absagenn · absaggen · absagne · absgaen · abssagen
  • abtragenabbtragen · abrtagen · abtargen · abtraegn · abtragenn · abtraggen · abtragne · abtrgaen

Frequency comparison

absagen#10,793
abtragen#49,443

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "absagen" and "abtragen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌzaːɡn̩] versus [ˈapˌtʁaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "absagen" or "abtragen"?
"absagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,793 in our German list, against #49,443 for "abtragen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering absagen vs abtragen

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