abtreibenvsaustreibenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#43,685
“abtreiben” frequency rank
#46,490
“austreiben” frequency rank
90175
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abtreiben austreiben
Definition etwas oder jemanden, welches oder welcher sich fliegend oder schwimmend bewegt, von einer Richtung ablenken Weidevieh auf die Weide treiben

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abtreiben and austreiben apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
abtreiben
10 ch
austreiben

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abtreiben ([ˈapˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]) and austreiben ([ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]) 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 90175, 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]. austreiben is at rank #46,490, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩].

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 90175, this pair ranks #49,603 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abtreiben vs austreiben

Shared letters: abeinrt. Private to "abtreiben": -. Private to "austreiben": su.

"abtreiben" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC  ·  "austreiben" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abtreibenabbtreiben · abrteiben · abteriben · abtrebien · abtreibben · abtreibenn · abtreibne · abtreiebn
  • austreibenasutreiben · ausrteiben · ausstreiben · austeriben · austrebien · austreibben · austreibenn · austreibne

Frequency comparison

abtreiben#43,685
austreiben#46,490

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abtreiben" and "austreiben" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌtʁaɪ̯bn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abtreiben" or "austreiben"?
"abtreiben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #43,685 in our German list, against #46,490 for "austreiben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abtreiben vs austreiben

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “abtreiben” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list