absorbierenvsabsorbiertTell them apart

Which to use

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

#44,417
“absorbieren” frequency rank
#27,174
“absorbiert” frequency rank
71591
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature absorbieren absorbiert
Definition aufsaugen, (in sich) aufnehmen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs absorbieren

Where the eye mixes absorbieren and absorbiert

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. absorbieren runs 11 letters (VCCVCCVVCVC) against absorbiert's 10 (VCCVCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
absorbieren
10 ch
absorbiert

Why the eye confuses absorbieren with absorbiert

A purely visual mix-up. absorbieren ([apzɔʁˈbiːʁən]) and absorbiert ([apzɔʁˈbiːɐ̯t]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71591, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

absorbieren is recorded at frequency rank #44,417, classified as averb, pronounced [apzɔʁˈbiːʁən]. absorbiert is at rank #27,174, tagged as averb, pronounced [apzɔʁˈbiːɐ̯t].

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 71591, this pair ranks #412,433 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of absorbieren vs absorbiert

Shared letters: abeiors. Private to "absorbieren": n. Private to "absorbiert": t.

"absorbieren" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVVCVC  ·  "absorbiert" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • absorbieren ← abbsorbieren · abosrbieren · absobrieren · absorbbieren · absorbeiren · absorbieern · absorbierenn · absorbierne
  • absorbiert ← abbsorbiert · abosrbiert · absobriert · absorbbiert · absorbeirt · absorbierrt · absorbiertt · absorbietr

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "absorbieren" for "absorbiert" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([apzɔʁˈbiːʁən] versus [apzɔʁˈbiːɐ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "absorbieren" or "absorbiert"?
"absorbiert" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,174 in our German list, against #44,417 for "absorbieren". 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 "absorbieren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "absorbiert" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #412,433 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "absorbieren" and "absorbiert" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "absolvieren vs absorbieren". 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 #412,433 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