AbtrennungvsAbtretungTell them apart

Which to use

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

#36,160
“Abtrennung” frequency rank
#28,981
“Abtretung” frequency rank
65141
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abtrennung Abtretung
Definition Entfernung/Absonderung eines Teils von einem Ganzen Übertragung der Verfügungsgewalt

Where the eye mixes Abtrennung and Abtretung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Abtrennung runs 10 letters (VCCCVCCVCC) against Abtretung's 9 (VCCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
Abtrennung
9 ch
Abtretung

Why the eye confuses Abtrennung with Abtretung

A purely visual mix-up. Abtrennung ([ˈapˌtʁɛnʊŋ]) and Abtretung ([ˈapˌtʁeːtʊŋ]) 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 65141, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abtrennung is recorded at frequency rank #36,160, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌtʁɛnʊŋ]. Abtretung is at rank #28,981, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌtʁeːtʊŋ].

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 65141, this pair ranks #617,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Abtrennung vs Abtretung

Shared letters: abegnrtu. Private to "Abtrennung": -. Private to "Abtretung": -.

"Abtrennung" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCC  ·  "Abtretung" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abtrennung ← abbtrennung · abrtennung · abternnung · abtrennnug · abtrennugn · abtrennungg · abtrennunng · abtrenung
  • Abtretung ← abbtretung · abrtetung · abtertung · abtretnug · abtrettung · abtretugn · abtretungg · abtretunng

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Abtrennung" and "Abtretung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌtʁɛnʊŋ] versus [ˈapˌtʁeːtʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Abtrennung" vs "Abtretung" - which ranks higher?
"Abtretung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,981 in our German list, against #36,160 for "Abtrennung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Abtrennung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Abtretung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #617,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Abtrennung" and "Abtretung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abtrennen vs Abtrennung". 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 #617,133 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list