Which to use
“abstellen” and “anstellen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,221
- “abstellen” frequency rank
- #7,718
- “anstellen” frequency rank
- 19939
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abstellen | anstellen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aus der Hand legen und auf einer Fläche platzieren | einen Gegenstand an einen anderen anlehnen |
Where the eye mixes abstellen and anstellen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abstellen and anstellen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses abstellen with anstellen
A purely visual mix-up. abstellen ([ˈapˌʃtɛlən]) and anstellen ([ˈanˌʃtɛlən]) 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 “abstellen” becomes n in “anstellen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19939, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abstellen is recorded at frequency rank #12,221, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃtɛlən]. anstellen is at rank #7,718, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌʃtɛlən].
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 19939, this pair ranks #1,903,018 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abstellen vs anstellen
Shared letters: aelnst. Private to "abstellen": b. Private to "anstellen": -.
"abstellen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "anstellen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abstellen" and "anstellen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "abstellen" vs "anstellen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abstellen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "anstellen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,903,018 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abstellen" and "anstellen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anstellen vs Antillen". 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 #1,903,018 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.