Which to use
“abschrecken” and “abschreiben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,484
- “abschrecken” frequency rank
- #23,402
- “abschreiben” frequency rank
- 43886
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abschrecken | abschreiben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Angst oder Zweifel erzeugen und jemanden damit fernhalten | den Text eines anderen übernehmen, kopieren und ihn als eigenes Werk ausgeben |
Where the eye mixes abschrecken and abschreiben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. abschrecken (VCCCCCVCCVC) and abschreiben (VCCCCCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: abschrecken vs abschreiben
A purely visual mix-up. abschrecken ([ˈapˌʃʁɛkn̩]) and abschreiben ([ˈapˌʃʁaɪ̯bn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43886, 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]. abschreiben is at rank #23,402, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃʁaɪ̯bn̩].
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 43886, this pair ranks #1,403,822 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abschrecken vs abschreiben
Shared letters: abcehnrs. Private to "abschrecken": k. Private to "abschreiben": i.
"abschrecken" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCCVCCVC · "abschreiben" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abschrecken ← abbschrecken · abcshrecken · abscchrecken · abschercken · abschhrecken · abschrceken · abschreccken · abschrecekn
- abschreiben ← abbschreiben · abcshreiben · abscchreiben · abscheriben · abschhreiben · abschrebien · abschreibben · abschreibenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abschrecken" and "abschreiben" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "abschrecken" vs "abschreiben" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abschrecken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abschreiben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,403,822 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abschrecken" and "abschreiben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abschreiben 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 #1,403,822 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.