Which to use
“abstreiten” and “abtreiben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,498
- “abstreiten” frequency rank
- #43,685
- “abtreiben” frequency rank
- 78183
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abstreiten | abtreiben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Behauptung oder einen Vorwurf nicht anerkennen | etwas oder jemanden, welches oder welcher sich fliegend oder schwimmend bewegt, von einer Richtung ablenken |
Where the eye mixes abstreiten and abtreiben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abstreiten runs 10 letters (VCCCCVVCVC) against abtreiben's 9 (VCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between abstreiten and abtreiben
A purely visual mix-up. abstreiten ([ˈapˌʃtʁaɪ̯tn̩]) and abtreiben ([ˈapˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]) 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 78183, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abstreiten is recorded at frequency rank #34,498, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃtʁaɪ̯tn̩]. abtreiben is at rank #43,685, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩].
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 78183, this pair ranks #244,019 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of abstreiten vs abtreiben
Shared letters: abeinrt. Private to "abstreiten": s. Private to "abtreiben": -.
"abstreiten" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVVCVC · "abtreiben" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abstreiten ← abbstreiten · absrteiten · absstreiten · absteriten · abstreietn · abstreitenn · abstreitne · abstreitten
- abtreiben ← abbtreiben · abrteiben · abteriben · abtrebien · abtreibben · abtreibenn · abtreibne · abtreiebn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abstreiten" and "abtreiben" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "abstreiten" or "abtreiben" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "abstreiten" and "abtreiben" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abstreiten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abtreiben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #244,019 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abstreiten" and "abtreiben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgreifen vs abtreiben". 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 #244,019 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.