AbsatzvsAnsatzWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,226
“Absatz” frequency rank
#3,169
“Ansatz” frequency rank
6395
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Absatz Ansatz
Definition neben der Beschaffung und der Produktion die dritte grundlegende betriebliche Funktion; umfasst alle betrieblichen Maßnahmen, die der Veräußerung und dem Verkauf der produzierten Güter dienen etwas, das an etwas angesetzt wird

Where the eye mixes Absatz and Ansatz

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Absatz and Ansatz follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
Absatz
6 ch
Ansatz

Look-alike desk: Absatz vs Ansatz

A purely visual mix-up. Absatz ([ˈapˌzat͡s]) and Ansatz ([ˈanˌzat͡s]) 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 “Absatz” becomes n in “Ansatz”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6395, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Absatz is recorded at frequency rank #3,226, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌzat͡s]. Ansatz is at rank #3,169, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌzat͡s].

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 6395, this pair ranks #1,991,789 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Absatz vs Ansatz

Shared letters: astz. Private to "Absatz": b. Private to "Ansatz": n.

"Absatz" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "Ansatz" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Absatz ← abastz · abbsatz · absattz · absatzz · absazt · abssatz · abstaz · asbatz
  • Ansatz ← anastz · annsatz · ansattz · ansatzz · ansazt · anssatz · anstaz · asnatz

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Absatz" and "Ansatz" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌzat͡s] versus [ˈanˌzat͡s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Absatz" or "Ansatz"?
"Ansatz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,169 in our German list, against #3,226 for "Absatz". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Absatz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ansatz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,991,789 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Absatz" and "Ansatz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Absatz vs absetzt". 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 #1,991,789 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