absetzenvsabzusetzenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,133
“absetzen” frequency rank
#22,998
“abzusetzen” frequency rank
32131
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature absetzen abzusetzen
Definition eine bestimmte Menge an Ware verkaufen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs absetzen

Where the eye mixes absetzen and abzusetzen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. absetzen runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against abzusetzen's 10 (VCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
absetzen
10 ch
abzusetzen

Visual trap between absetzen and abzusetzen

A purely visual mix-up. absetzen ([ˈapˌz̥ɛt͡sn̩]) and abzusetzen ([ˈapt͡suˌz̥ɛt͡sn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32131, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

absetzen is recorded at frequency rank #9,133, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌz̥ɛt͡sn̩]. abzusetzen is at rank #22,998, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌz̥ɛt͡sn̩].

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 32131, this pair ranks #1,714,055 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of absetzen vs abzusetzen

Shared letters: abenstz. Private to "absetzen": -. Private to "abzusetzen": u.

"absetzen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "abzusetzen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • absetzen ← abbsetzen · abestzen · absetezn · absettzen · absetzenn · absetzne · absetzzen · absezten
  • abzusetzen ← abbzusetzen · abuzsetzen · abzsuetzen · abzuestzen · abzusetezn · abzusettzen · abzusetzenn · abzusetzne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "absetzen" and "abzusetzen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌz̥ɛt͡sn̩] versus [ˈapt͡suˌz̥ɛt͡sn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "absetzen" or "abzusetzen"?
"absetzen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,133 in our German list, against #22,998 for "abzusetzen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "absetzen" and "abzusetzen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "absetzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abzusetzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,714,055 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "absetzen" and "abzusetzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzusetzen vs aufzusetzen". 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 #1,714,055 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