Which to use
“abschaffen” and “abzuschaffen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,028
- “abschaffen” frequency rank
- #21,152
- “abzuschaffen” frequency rank
- 31180
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abschaffen | abzuschaffen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas entfernen, außer Kraft setzen, beseitigen | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abschaffen |
Where the eye mixes abschaffen and abzuschaffen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between abschaffen and abzuschaffen
A purely visual mix-up. abschaffen ([ˈapˌʃafn̩]) and abzuschaffen ([ˈapt͡suˌʃafn̩]) 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 31180, 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]. abzuschaffen is at rank #21,152, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌʃafn̩].
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 31180, this pair ranks #1,733,262 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abschaffen vs abzuschaffen
Shared letters: abcefhns. Private to "abschaffen": -. Private to "abzuschaffen": uz.
"abschaffen" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC · "abzuschaffen" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abschaffen ← abbschaffen · abcshaffen · abscahffen · abscchaffen · abschafefn · abschafen · abschaffenn · abschaffne
- abzuschaffen ← abbzuschaffen · abuzschaffen · abzsuchaffen · abzucshaffen · abzuscahffen · abzuscchaffen · abzuschafefn · abzuschafen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abschaffen" and "abzuschaffen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "abschaffen" vs "abzuschaffen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "abschaffen" and "abzuschaffen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abschaffen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abzuschaffen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,733,262 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abschaffen" and "abzuschaffen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzuschaffen vs anzuschaffen". 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 #1,733,262 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.