absagenvsansagenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,793
“absagen” frequency rank
#23,010
“ansagen” frequency rank
33803
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature absagen ansagen
Definition etwas Angekündigtes widerrufen, eine Veranstaltung oder sonstiges nicht stattfinden lassen den nächsten Künstler, Film oder Titel ankündigen

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
absagen
7 ch
ansagen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. absagen ([ˈapˌzaːɡn̩]) and ansagen ([ˈanˌzaːɡn̩]) 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 a single letter - b in “absagen” becomes n in “ansagen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33803, 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]. ansagen is at rank #23,010, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌzaːɡn̩].

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 33803, this pair ranks #1,677,768 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of absagen vs ansagen

Shared letters: aegns. Private to "absagen": b. Private to "ansagen": -.

"absagen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "ansagen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • absagenabasgen · abbsagen · absaegn · absagenn · absaggen · absagne · absgaen · abssagen
  • ansagenanasgen · annsagen · ansaegn · ansagenn · ansaggen · ansagne · ansgaen · anssagen

Frequency comparison

absagen#10,793
ansagen#23,010

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "absagen" and "ansagen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌzaːɡn̩] versus [ˈanˌzaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "absagen" or "ansagen"?
"absagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,793 in our German list, against #23,010 for "ansagen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering absagen vs ansagen

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