Which to use
“abschreiben” is a verb and “Anschreiben” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,402
- “abschreiben” frequency rank
- #12,857
- “Anschreiben” frequency rank
- 36259
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abschreiben | Anschreiben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | den Text eines anderen übernehmen, kopieren und ihn als eigenes Werk ausgeben | einleitender Text einer Postzustellung, der Absender, Empfänger, Betreff und Grund beziehungsweise das Anliegen der Postzustellung enthält |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abschreiben and Anschreiben apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
abschreiben and Anschreiben form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - b in “abschreiben” becomes n in “Anschreiben” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36259, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abschreiben is recorded at frequency rank #23,402, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃʁaɪ̯bn̩]. Anschreiben is at rank #12,857, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌʃʁaɪ̯bn̩].
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 36259, this pair ranks #1,620,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abschreiben" and "Anschreiben" be used interchangeably?
Remembering abschreiben vs Anschreiben
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “abschreiben”; for a noun, it's “Anschreiben”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “abschreiben” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable