Which to use
“abschaffen” and “abschalten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,028
- “abschaffen” frequency rank
- #8,980
- “abschalten” frequency rank
- 19008
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abschaffen | abschalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas entfernen, außer Kraft setzen, beseitigen | ein Gerät oder eine Anlage außer Betrieb setzen, stromlos machen |
Where the eye mixes abschaffen and abschalten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abschaffen and abschalten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between abschaffen and abschalten
A purely visual mix-up. abschaffen ([ˈapˌʃafn̩]) and abschalten ([ˈapˌʃaltn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19008, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abschaffen is recorded at frequency rank #10,028, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃafn̩]. abschalten is at rank #8,980, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃaltn̩].
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 19008, this pair ranks #1,912,715 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abschaffen vs abschalten
Shared letters: abcehns. Private to "abschaffen": f. Private to "abschalten": lt.
"abschaffen" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC · "abschalten" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abschaffen ← abbschaffen · abcshaffen · abscahffen · abscchaffen · abschafefn · abschafen · abschaffenn · abschaffne
- abschalten ← abbschalten · abcshalten · abscahlten · abscchalten · abschaletn · abschallten · abschaltenn · abschaltne
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abschaffen" and "abschalten" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "abschaffen" vs "abschalten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "abschaffen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abschalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,912,715 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abschaffen" and "abschalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abschalten vs anschalten". 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 #1,912,715 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.