Which to use
“abtreiben” and “auftreiben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,685
- “abtreiben” frequency rank
- #35,635
- “auftreiben” frequency rank
- 79320
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abtreiben | auftreiben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas oder jemanden, welches oder welcher sich fliegend oder schwimmend bewegt, von einer Richtung ablenken | nach Suche finden |
Where the eye mixes abtreiben and auftreiben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abtreiben runs 9 letters (VCCCVVCVC) against auftreiben's 10 (VVCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abtreiben with auftreiben
A purely visual mix-up. abtreiben ([ˈapˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]) and auftreiben ([ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]) 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 79320, 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]. auftreiben is at rank #35,635, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩].
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 79320, this pair ranks #218,980 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of abtreiben vs auftreiben
Shared letters: abeinrt. Private to "abtreiben": -. Private to "auftreiben": fu.
"abtreiben" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC · "auftreiben" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abtreiben ← abbtreiben · abrteiben · abteriben · abtrebien · abtreibben · abtreibenn · abtreibne · abtreiebn
- auftreiben ← afutreiben · aufftreiben · aufrteiben · aufteriben · auftrebien · auftreibben · auftreibenn · auftreibne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abtreiben" and "auftreiben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "abtreiben" vs "auftreiben" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "abtreiben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "auftreiben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #218,980 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abtreiben" and "auftreiben" 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 #218,980 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.