Which to use
“Abschaffung” and “Anschaffung” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,499
- “Abschaffung” frequency rank
- #11,590
- “Anschaffung” frequency rank
- 18089
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Abschaffung | Anschaffung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Handlung, etwas ungültig oder nicht-existent zu machen | Erwerb von etwas |
Where the eye mixes Abschaffung and Anschaffung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. Abschaffung and Anschaffung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between Abschaffung and Anschaffung
A purely visual mix-up. Abschaffung ([ˈapˌʃafʊŋ]) and Anschaffung ([ˈanʃafʊŋ]) 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 “Abschaffung” becomes n in “Anschaffung”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18089, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Abschaffung is recorded at frequency rank #6,499, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌʃafʊŋ]. Anschaffung is at rank #11,590, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanʃafʊŋ].
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 18089, this pair ranks #1,921,512 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Abschaffung vs Anschaffung
Shared letters: acfghnsu. Private to "Abschaffung": b. Private to "Anschaffung": -.
"Abschaffung" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVCC · "Anschaffung" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Abschaffung ← abbschaffung · abcshaffung · abscahffung · abscchaffung · abschaffnug · abschaffugn · abschaffungg · abschaffunng
- Anschaffung ← ancshaffung · annschaffung · anscahffung · anscchaffung · anschaffnug · anschaffugn · anschaffungg · anschaffunng
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Abschaffung" for "Anschaffung" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Abschaffung" vs "Anschaffung" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Abschaffung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Anschaffung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,921,512 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Abschaffung" and "Anschaffung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Anschaffung vs Anschaffungen". 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 #1,921,512 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.