AbschlagvsAnschlagWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Abschlag” and “Anschlag” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#35,600
“Abschlag” frequency rank
#4,488
“Anschlag” frequency rank
40088
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abschlag Anschlag
Definition Spielen des Balles aus der Hand mit dem Fuß durch den Torwart Durchführung einer Aktion, bei der an etwas geschlagen wird

Where the eye mixes Abschlag and Anschlag

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Abschlag and Anschlag follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
Abschlag
8 ch
Anschlag

Look-alike desk: Abschlag vs Anschlag

A purely visual mix-up. Abschlag ([ˈapʃlaːk]) and Anschlag ([ˈanˌʃlaːk]) 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 “Abschlag” becomes n in “Anschlag”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40088, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abschlag is recorded at frequency rank #35,600, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapʃlaːk]. Anschlag is at rank #4,488, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌʃlaːk].

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 40088, this pair ranks #1,518,396 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Abschlag vs Anschlag

Shared letters: acghls. Private to "Abschlag": b. Private to "Anschlag": n.

"Abschlag" · 8 letters · shape VCCCCCVC  ·  "Anschlag" · 8 letters · shape VCCCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abschlag ← abbschlag · abcshlag · abscchlag · abschalg · abschhlag · abschlagg · abschlga · abschllag
  • Anschlag ← ancshlag · annschlag · anscchlag · anschalg · anschhlag · anschlagg · anschlga · anschllag

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Abschlag" and "Anschlag" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapʃlaːk] versus [ˈanˌʃlaːk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Abschlag" or "Anschlag"?
"Anschlag" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,488 in our German list, against #35,600 for "Abschlag". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Abschlag" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Anschlag" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,518,396 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Abschlag" and "Anschlag" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abschlag vs abschlagen". 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 #1,518,396 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list