Which to use
“abspielen” and “anspielen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,621
- “abspielen” frequency rank
- #45,119
- “anspielen” frequency rank
- 61740
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abspielen | anspielen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Spielgerät ins Spiel geben, an einen Mitspieler weitergeben, ihm zuspielen | ein Spielgerät (Ball, Puck etc.) gezielt auf einen Mitspieler platzieren |
Where the eye mixes abspielen and anspielen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abspielen and anspielen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: abspielen vs anspielen
A purely visual mix-up. abspielen ([ˈapˌʃpiːlən]) and anspielen ([ˈanˌʃpiːlən]) 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 a single letter - b in “abspielen” becomes n in “anspielen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61740, 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]. anspielen is at rank #45,119, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌʃpiːlən].
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 61740, this pair ranks #738,423 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abspielen vs anspielen
Shared letters: aeilnps. Private to "abspielen": b. Private to "anspielen": -.
"abspielen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC · "anspielen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abspielen" and "anspielen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "abspielen" or "anspielen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abspielen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "anspielen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #738,423 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abspielen" and "anspielen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anspielen vs aufspielen". 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 #738,423 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.