AbwanderungvsAbwandlungTell them apart

Which to use

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

#24,596
“Abwanderung” frequency rank
#39,188
“Abwandlung” frequency rank
63784
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abwanderung Abwandlung
Definition die Entfernung, der Aufbruch/Weggang von einem Ort/Verein/Land usw. leichte Veränderung, kleine Abänderung

Where the eye mixes Abwanderung and Abwandlung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Abwanderung runs 11 letters (VCCVCCVCVCC) against Abwandlung's 10 (VCCVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
Abwanderung
10 ch
Abwandlung

Visual trap between Abwanderung and Abwandlung

A purely visual mix-up. Abwanderung ([ˈapˌvandəʁʊŋ]) and Abwandlung ([ˈapˌvandlʊŋ]) 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 63784, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abwanderung is recorded at frequency rank #24,596, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌvandəʁʊŋ]. Abwandlung is at rank #39,188, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌvandlʊŋ].

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 63784, this pair ranks #664,473 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Abwanderung vs Abwandlung

Shared letters: abdgnuw. Private to "Abwanderung": er. Private to "Abwandlung": l.

"Abwanderung" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVCC  ·  "Abwandlung" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abwanderung ← abawnderung · abbwanderung · abwadnerung · abwandderung · abwandernug · abwanderrung · abwanderugn · abwanderungg
  • Abwandlung ← abawndlung · abbwandlung · abwadnlung · abwanddlung · abwandllung · abwandlnug · abwandlugn · abwandlungg

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Abwanderung" and "Abwandlung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌvandəʁʊŋ] versus [ˈapˌvandlʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Abwanderung" or "Abwandlung" show up more?
"Abwanderung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,596 in our German list, against #39,188 for "Abwandlung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Abwanderung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Abwandlung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #664,473 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Abwanderung" and "Abwandlung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abwandlung vs Abwendung". 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 #664,473 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