absteigenvsabstellenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,112
“absteigen” frequency rank
#12,221
“abstellen” frequency rank
31333
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature absteigen abstellen
Definition an Höhe verlieren, nach unten verlaufen, einen abschüssigen Verlauf nehmen aus der Hand legen und auf einer Fläche platzieren

Where the eye mixes absteigen and abstellen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. absteigen (VCCCVVCVC) and abstellen (VCCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

9 ch
absteigen
9 ch
abstellen

Look-alike desk: absteigen vs abstellen

A purely visual mix-up. absteigen ([ˈapˌʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩]) and abstellen ([ˈapˌʃtɛlən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31333, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

absteigen is recorded at frequency rank #19,112, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩]. abstellen is at rank #12,221, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃtɛlən].

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 31333, this pair ranks #1,730,224 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of absteigen vs abstellen

Shared letters: abenst. Private to "absteigen": gi. Private to "abstellen": l.

"absteigen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC  ·  "abstellen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • absteigen ← abbsteigen · absetigen · abssteigen · abstegien · absteiegn · absteigenn · absteiggen · absteigne
  • abstellen ← abbstellen · absetllen · absstellen · absteleln · abstelen · abstellenn · abstellne · abstlelen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "absteigen" and "abstellen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩] versus [ˈapˌʃtɛlən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "absteigen" vs "abstellen" - which ranks higher?
"abstellen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,221 in our German list, against #19,112 for "absteigen". 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 "absteigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abstellen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,730,224 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "absteigen" and "abstellen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "absteigen vs austeilen". 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 #1,730,224 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