Which to use
“abtragen” and “abwägen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,443
- “abtragen” frequency rank
- #25,872
- “abwägen” frequency rank
- 75315
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abtragen | abwägen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schichtweise entfernen | vergleichend prüfen |
Where the eye mixes abtragen and abwägen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. abtragen runs 8 letters (VCCCVCVC) against abwägen's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: abtragen vs abwägen
A purely visual mix-up. abtragen ([ˈapˌtʁaːɡn̩]) and abwägen ([ˈapˌvɛːɡn̩]) 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 75315, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abtragen is recorded at frequency rank #49,443, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌtʁaːɡn̩]. abwägen is at rank #25,872, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌvɛːɡn̩].
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 75315, this pair ranks #311,060 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of abtragen vs abwägen
Shared letters: abegn. Private to "abtragen": rt. Private to "abwägen": wä.
"abtragen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC · "abwägen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abtragen ← abbtragen · abrtagen · abtargen · abtraegn · abtragenn · abtraggen · abtragne · abtrgaen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abtragen" and "abwägen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "abtragen" vs "abwägen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "abtragen" and "abwägen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abtragen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abwägen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #311,060 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abtragen" and "abwägen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abraten vs abtragen". 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 #311,060 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.