Which to use
“abtrennen” is a verb and “Abtrennung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #47,184
- “abtrennen” frequency rank
- #36,160
- “Abtrennung” frequency rank
- 83344
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abtrennen | Abtrennung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Sache von einer anderen Sache absondern | Entfernung/Absonderung eines Teils von einem Ganzen |
Where the eye mixes abtrennen and Abtrennung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abtrennen runs 9 letters (VCCCVCCVC) against Abtrennung's 10 (VCCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abtrennen with Abtrennung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abtrennen is [ˈapˌtʁɛnən] while Abtrennung is [ˈapˌtʁɛnʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 83344, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abtrennen is recorded at frequency rank #47,184, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌtʁɛnən]. Abtrennung is at rank #36,160, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌtʁɛnʊŋ].
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 83344, this pair ranks #141,494 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of abtrennen vs Abtrennung
Shared letters: abenrt. Private to "abtrennen": -. Private to "Abtrennung": gu.
"abtrennen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "Abtrennung" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abtrennen ← abbtrennen · abrtennen · abternnen · abtrenen · abtrenenn · abtrennenn · abtrennne · abtrnenen
- Abtrennung ← abbtrennung · abrtennung · abternnung · abtrennnug · abtrennugn · abtrennungg · abtrennunng · abtrenung
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abtrennen" for "Abtrennung" ever safe?
Frequency check: "abtrennen" vs "Abtrennung" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "abtrennen" and "Abtrennung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abtrennen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Abtrennung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #141,494 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abtrennen" and "Abtrennung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abtreiben vs abtrennen". 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 #141,494 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.