Which to use
“abtreiben” and “abtreten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,685
- “abtreiben” frequency rank
- #20,152
- “abtreten” frequency rank
- 63837
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abtreiben | abtreten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas oder jemanden, welches oder welcher sich fliegend oder schwimmend bewegt, von einer Richtung ablenken | mit einem Tritt entfernen |
Where the eye mixes abtreiben and abtreten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. abtreiben runs 9 letters (VCCCVVCVC) against abtreten's 8 (VCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abtreiben with abtreten
A purely visual mix-up. abtreiben ([ˈapˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]) and abtreten ([ˈapˌtʁeːtn̩]) 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 63837, 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]. abtreten is at rank #20,152, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌtʁeːtn̩].
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 63837, this pair ranks #662,563 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abtreiben vs abtreten
Shared letters: abenrt. Private to "abtreiben": i. Private to "abtreten": -.
"abtreiben" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC · "abtreten" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abtreiben" and "abtreten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "abtreiben" or "abtreten"?
What to do next
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 "abtreten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #662,563 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abtreiben" and "abtreten" 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 #662,563 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.