Which to use
“absprechen” and “ansprechen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,509
- “absprechen” frequency rank
- #6,891
- “ansprechen” frequency rank
- 28400
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | absprechen | ansprechen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas auf Grundlage eines Urteils (zum Beispiel eines Gerichtsurteils) aberkennen | anfangen mit jemandem zu sprechen; mit jemandem ein Gespräch beginnen |
Where the eye mixes absprechen and ansprechen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. absprechen and ansprechen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses absprechen with ansprechen
A purely visual mix-up. absprechen ([ˈapˌʃpʁɛçn̩]) and ansprechen ([ˈanˌʃpʁɛçn̩]) 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 “absprechen” becomes n in “ansprechen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28400, 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]. ansprechen is at rank #6,891, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌʃpʁɛçn̩].
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 28400, this pair ranks #1,785,446 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of absprechen vs ansprechen
Shared letters: acehnprs. Private to "absprechen": b. Private to "ansprechen": -.
"absprechen" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC · "ansprechen" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- absprechen ← abbsprechen · abpsrechen · absperchen · abspprechen · absprcehen · absprecchen · absprecehn · absprechenn
- ansprechen ← annsprechen · anpsrechen · ansperchen · anspprechen · ansprcehen · ansprecchen · ansprecehn · ansprechenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "absprechen" and "ansprechen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "absprechen" or "ansprechen" show up more?
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 "absprechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ansprechen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,785,446 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "absprechen" and "ansprechen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "absprechen 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 #1,785,446 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.