Which to use
“abspielen” and “abzielen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,621
- “abspielen” frequency rank
- #39,189
- “abzielen” frequency rank
- 55810
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abspielen | abzielen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Spielgerät ins Spiel geben, an einen Mitspieler weitergeben, ihm zuspielen | es auf etwas absehen, etwas als Ziel ins Visier nehmen |
Where the eye mixes abspielen and abzielen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. abspielen runs 9 letters (VCCCVVCVC) against abzielen's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abspielen with abzielen
A purely visual mix-up. abspielen ([ˈapˌʃpiːlən]) and abzielen ([ˈapˌt͡siːlən]) 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 55810, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abspielen is recorded at frequency rank #16,621, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃpiːlən]. abzielen is at rank #39,189, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌt͡siːlən].
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 55810, this pair ranks #964,824 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abspielen vs abzielen
Shared letters: abeiln. Private to "abspielen": ps. Private to "abzielen": z.
"abspielen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC · "abzielen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abspielen" and "abzielen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "abspielen" vs "abzielen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "abspielen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abzielen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #964,824 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abspielen" and "abzielen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzielen vs abzielt". 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 #964,824 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.