Which to use
“abtreiben” and “abtrennen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,685
- “abtreiben” frequency rank
- #47,184
- “abtrennen” frequency rank
- 90869
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abtreiben | abtrennen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas oder jemanden, welches oder welcher sich fliegend oder schwimmend bewegt, von einer Richtung ablenken | eine Sache von einer anderen Sache absondern |
Where the eye mixes abtreiben and abtrennen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. abtreiben (VCCCVVCVC) and abtrennen (VCCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: abtreiben vs abtrennen
A purely visual mix-up. abtreiben ([ˈapˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]) and abtrennen ([ˈapˌtʁɛnən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 90869, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abtreiben is recorded at frequency rank #43,685, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]. abtrennen is at rank #47,184, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌtʁɛnən].
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 90869, this pair ranks #42,929 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of abtreiben vs abtrennen
Shared letters: abenrt. Private to "abtreiben": i. Private to "abtrennen": -.
"abtreiben" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC · "abtrennen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abtreiben" for "abtrennen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "abtreiben" or "abtrennen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abtreiben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abtrennen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,929 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abtreiben" and "abtrennen" 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 #42,929 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.