AbteivsAtemWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#18,456
“Abtei” frequency rank
#6,150
“Atem” frequency rank
24606
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abtei Atem
Definition Kloster, mit einem Abt oder einer Äbtissin als Vorsteher/Vorsteherin der aus den Lungen abgegebene Luftstrom, hauptsächlich Stickstoff, Sauerstoff, Kohlendioxid und Wasserdampf

Where the eye mixes Abtei and Atem

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Abtei
4 ch
Atem

Look-alike desk: Abtei vs Atem

A purely visual mix-up. Abtei ([apˈtaɪ̯]) and Atem ([ˈaːtəm]) 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 24606, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abtei is recorded at frequency rank #18,456, classified as anoun, pronounced [apˈtaɪ̯]. Atem is at rank #6,150, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaːtəm].

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 24606, this pair ranks #1,845,249 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Abtei vs Atem

Shared letters: aet. Private to "Abtei": bi. Private to "Atem": m.

"Abtei" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV  ·  "Atem" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abteiabbtei · abeti · abtie · abttei · atbei · batei
  • Atemaetm · atemm · attem

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Abtei" for "Atem" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([apˈtaɪ̯] versus [ˈaːtəm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Abtei" or "Atem" show up more?
"Atem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,150 in our German list, against #18,456 for "Abtei". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Abtei" and "Atem" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Abtei" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Atem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,845,249 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Abtei" and "Atem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abtei vs abtun". 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 #1,845,249 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