absagenvsabzusagenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#10,793
“absagen” frequency rank
#41,627
“abzusagen” frequency rank
52420
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature absagen abzusagen
Definition etwas Angekündigtes widerrufen, eine Veranstaltung oder sonstiges nicht stattfinden lassen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs absagen

Where the eye mixes absagen and abzusagen

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

7 ch
absagen
9 ch
abzusagen

Visual trap between absagen and abzusagen

A purely visual mix-up. absagen ([ˈapˌzaːɡn̩]) and abzusagen ([ˈapt͡suˌzaːɡn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52420, 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]. abzusagen is at rank #41,627, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌzaːɡn̩].

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 52420, this pair ranks #1,097,705 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of absagen vs abzusagen

Shared letters: abegns. Private to "absagen": -. Private to "abzusagen": uz.

"absagen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "abzusagen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • absagen ← abasgen · abbsagen · absaegn · absagenn · absaggen · absagne · absgaen · abssagen
  • abzusagen ← abbzusagen · abuzsagen · abzsuagen · abzuasgen · abzusaegn · abzusagenn · abzusaggen · abzusagne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "absagen" and "abzusagen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌzaːɡn̩] versus [ˈapt͡suˌzaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "absagen" vs "abzusagen" - which ranks higher?
"absagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,793 in our German list, against #41,627 for "abzusagen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "absagen" and "abzusagen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "absagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abzusagen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,097,705 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "absagen" and "abzusagen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzusagen vs auszusagen". 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 #1,097,705 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