AbteilungenvsAbtreibungenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,710
“Abteilungen” frequency rank
#37,337
“Abtreibungen” frequency rank
45047
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abteilungen Abtreibungen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Abteilung Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Abtreibung

Where the eye mixes Abteilungen and Abtreibungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. Abteilungen runs 11 letters (VCCVVCVCCVC) against Abtreibungen's 12 (VCCCVVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
Abteilungen
12 ch
Abtreibungen

Look-alike desk: Abteilungen vs Abtreibungen

A purely visual mix-up. Abteilungen ([apˈtaɪ̯lʊŋən]) and Abtreibungen ([ˈapˌtʁaɪ̯bʊŋən]) 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 45047, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abteilungen is recorded at frequency rank #7,710, classified as anoun, pronounced [apˈtaɪ̯lʊŋən]. Abtreibungen is at rank #37,337, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌtʁaɪ̯bʊŋən].

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 45047, this pair ranks #1,366,235 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Abteilungen vs Abtreibungen

Shared letters: abegintu. Private to "Abteilungen": l. Private to "Abtreibungen": r.

"Abteilungen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVVCVCCVC  ·  "Abtreibungen" · 12 letters · shape VCCCVVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abteilungen ← abbteilungen · abetilungen · abteillungen · abteilnugen · abteilugnen · abteilunegn · abteilungenn · abteilunggen
  • Abtreibungen ← abbtreibungen · abrteibungen · abteribungen · abtrebiungen · abtreibbungen · abtreibnugen · abtreibugnen · abtreibunegn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Abteilungen" for "Abtreibungen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([apˈtaɪ̯lʊŋən] versus [ˈapˌtʁaɪ̯bʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Abteilungen" or "Abtreibungen"?
"Abteilungen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,710 in our German list, against #37,337 for "Abtreibungen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Abteilungen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Abtreibungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,366,235 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Abteilungen" and "Abtreibungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ableitungen vs Abteilungen". 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 #1,366,235 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