Which to use
“abschrecken” is a verb and “Abschreckung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,484
- “abschrecken” frequency rank
- #25,870
- “Abschreckung” frequency rank
- 46354
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abschrecken | Abschreckung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Angst oder Zweifel erzeugen und jemanden damit fernhalten | Vorgang, um jemanden in Angst oder Schrecken zu versetzen und von etwas abzuhalten |
Where the eye mixes abschrecken and Abschreckung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. abschrecken runs 11 letters (VCCCCCVCCVC) against Abschreckung's 12 (VCCCCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between abschrecken and Abschreckung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abschrecken is [ˈapˌʃʁɛkn̩] while Abschreckung is [ˈapˌʃʁɛkʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46354, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abschrecken is recorded at frequency rank #20,484, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃʁɛkn̩]. Abschreckung is at rank #25,870, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌʃʁɛkʊŋ].
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 46354, this pair ranks #1,321,939 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abschrecken vs Abschreckung
Shared letters: abcehknrs. Private to "abschrecken": -. Private to "Abschreckung": gu.
"abschrecken" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCCVCCVC · "Abschreckung" · 12 letters · shape VCCCCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abschrecken ← abbschrecken · abcshrecken · abscchrecken · abschercken · abschhrecken · abschrceken · abschreccken · abschrecekn
- Abschreckung ← abbschreckung · abcshreckung · abscchreckung · abscherckung · abschhreckung · abschrcekung · abschrecckung · abschreckkung
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abschrecken" for "Abschreckung" ever safe?
Frequency check: "abschrecken" vs "Abschreckung" - 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 "abschrecken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Abschreckung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,321,939 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abschrecken" and "Abschreckung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abschreckung vs Abschreibung". 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 #1,321,939 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.