Which to use
“abschicken” and “abschrecken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,033
- “abschicken” frequency rank
- #20,484
- “abschrecken” frequency rank
- 55517
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abschicken | abschrecken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas auf den Weg zu einem Empfänger bringen | Angst oder Zweifel erzeugen und jemanden damit fernhalten |
Where the eye mixes abschicken and abschrecken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. abschicken runs 10 letters (VCCCCVCCVC) against abschrecken's 11 (VCCCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between abschicken and abschrecken
A purely visual mix-up. abschicken ([ˈapˌʃɪkn̩]) and abschrecken ([ˈapˌʃʁɛkn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55517, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abschicken is recorded at frequency rank #35,033, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃɪkn̩]. abschrecken is at rank #20,484, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃʁɛkn̩].
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 55517, this pair ranks #976,508 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abschicken vs abschrecken
Shared letters: abcehkns. Private to "abschicken": i. Private to "abschrecken": r.
"abschicken" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC · "abschrecken" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abschicken ← abbschicken · abcshicken · abscchicken · abschciken · abschhicken · abschiccken · abschicekn · abschickenn
- abschrecken ← abbschrecken · abcshrecken · abscchrecken · abschercken · abschhrecken · abschrceken · abschreccken · abschrecekn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abschicken" for "abschrecken" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "abschicken" or "abschrecken" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "abschicken" and "abschrecken" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abschicken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abschrecken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #976,508 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abschicken" and "abschrecken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abschrecken vs abschreckend". 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 #976,508 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.