AbsturzvsabstürzenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Absturz is a noun, abstürzen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Absturz” is a noun and “abstürzen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,162
“Absturz” frequency rank
#29,902
“abstürzen” frequency rank
38064
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Absturz abstürzen
Definition das Herabstürzen von Personen oder Gegenständen; ein Unfall als Person oder Gegenstand herunterfallen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Absturz and abstürzen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Absturz
9 ch
abstürzen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Absturz is [ˈapˌʃtʊʁt͡s] while abstürzen is [ˈapˌʃtʏʁt͡sn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38064, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Absturz is recorded at frequency rank #8,162, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌʃtʊʁt͡s]. abstürzen is at rank #29,902, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃtʏʁt͡sn̩].

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 38064, this pair ranks #1,573,740 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Absturz vs abstürzen

Shared letters: abrstz. Private to "Absturz": u. Private to "abstürzen": enü.

"Absturz" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC  ·  "abstürzen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Absturzabbsturz · abssturz · abstruz · abstturz · absturrz · absturzz · abstuzr · absutrz

Frequency comparison

Absturz#8,162
abstürzen#29,902

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Absturz" and "abstürzen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Absturz" is a noun and "abstürzen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Absturz" or "abstürzen"?
"Absturz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,162 in our German list, against #29,902 for "abstürzen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Absturz vs abstürzen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Absturz”; for a verb, it's “abstürzen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Absturz” 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