absteigenvsabstreitenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,112
“absteigen” frequency rank
#34,498
“abstreiten” frequency rank
53610
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature absteigen abstreiten
Definition an Höhe verlieren, nach unten verlaufen, einen abschüssigen Verlauf nehmen eine Behauptung oder einen Vorwurf nicht anerkennen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set absteigen and abstreiten apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
absteigen
10 ch
abstreiten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. absteigen ([ˈapˌʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩]) and abstreiten ([ˈapˌʃtʁaɪ̯tn̩]) 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 53610, 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]. abstreiten is at rank #34,498, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃtʁaɪ̯tn̩].

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 53610, this pair ranks #1,051,273 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of absteigen vs abstreiten

Shared letters: abeinst. Private to "absteigen": g. Private to "abstreiten": r.

"absteigen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC  ·  "abstreiten" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • absteigenabbsteigen · absetigen · abssteigen · abstegien · absteiegn · absteigenn · absteiggen · absteigne
  • abstreitenabbstreiten · absrteiten · absstreiten · absteriten · abstreietn · abstreitenn · abstreitne · abstreitten

Frequency comparison

absteigen#19,112
abstreiten#34,498

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "absteigen" and "abstreiten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩] versus [ˈapˌʃtʁaɪ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "absteigen" or "abstreiten"?
"absteigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,112 in our German list, against #34,498 for "abstreiten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering absteigen vs abstreiten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “absteigen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list