absprechenvsabzusprechenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#21,509
“absprechen” frequency rank
#35,038
“abzusprechen” frequency rank
56547
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature absprechen abzusprechen
Definition etwas auf Grundlage eines Urteils (zum Beispiel eines Gerichtsurteils) aberkennen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs absprechen

Where the eye mixes absprechen and abzusprechen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. absprechen runs 10 letters (VCCCCVCCVC) against abzusprechen's 12 (VCCVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
absprechen
12 ch
abzusprechen

Look-alike desk: absprechen vs abzusprechen

A purely visual mix-up. absprechen ([ˈapˌʃpʁɛçn̩]) and abzusprechen ([ˈapt͡suˌʃpʁɛçn̩]) 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 56547, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

absprechen is recorded at frequency rank #21,509, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃpʁɛçn̩]. abzusprechen is at rank #35,038, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌʃpʁɛçn̩].

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 56547, this pair ranks #935,990 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of absprechen vs abzusprechen

Shared letters: abcehnprs. Private to "absprechen": -. Private to "abzusprechen": uz.

"absprechen" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC  ·  "abzusprechen" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • absprechen ← abbsprechen · abpsrechen · absperchen · abspprechen · absprcehen · absprecchen · absprecehn · absprechenn
  • abzusprechen ← abbzusprechen · abuzsprechen · abzsuprechen · abzupsrechen · abzusperchen · abzuspprechen · abzusprcehen · abzusprecchen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "absprechen" for "abzusprechen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌʃpʁɛçn̩] versus [ˈapt͡suˌʃpʁɛçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "absprechen" vs "abzusprechen" - which ranks higher?
"absprechen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,509 in our German list, against #35,038 for "abzusprechen". 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 "absprechen" and "abzusprechen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "absprechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abzusprechen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #935,990 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "absprechen" and "abzusprechen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzubrechen vs abzusprechen". 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 #935,990 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