AbsätzenvsansetzenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Absätzen is a noun, ansetzen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Absätzen” is a noun and “ansetzen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,416
“Absätzen” frequency rank
#13,542
“ansetzen” frequency rank
44958
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Absätzen ansetzen
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Absatz etwas an etwas anderes anlehnen, etwas zu etwas anderem führen

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
Absätzen
8 ch
ansetzen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Absätzen is [ˈapˌzɛt͡sn̩] while ansetzen is [ˈanˌzɛt͡sn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44958, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Absätzen is recorded at frequency rank #31,416, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌzɛt͡sn̩]. ansetzen is at rank #13,542, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌzɛt͡sn̩].

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 44958, this pair ranks #1,369,074 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Absätzen vs ansetzen

Shared letters: aenstz. Private to "Absätzen": . Private to "ansetzen": -.

"Absätzen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "ansetzen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ansetzenanestzen · annsetzen · ansetezn · ansettzen · ansetzenn · ansetzne · ansetzzen · ansezten

Frequency comparison

Absätzen#31,416
ansetzen#13,542

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Absätzen" and "ansetzen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Absätzen" is a noun and "ansetzen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Absätzen" or "ansetzen"?
"ansetzen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,542 in our German list, against #31,416 for "Absätzen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Absätzen vs ansetzen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Absätzen”; for a verb, it's “ansetzen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Absätzen” 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