Which to use
“abwarten” and “abwerfen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,337
- “abwarten” frequency rank
- #27,175
- “abwerfen” frequency rank
- 32512
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abwarten | abwerfen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | den Eintritt oder das Ende eines Ereignisses aufmerksam verfolgen | hinunter werfen, sich einer Sache entledigen |
Where the eye mixes abwarten and abwerfen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abwarten and abwerfen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: abwarten vs abwerfen
A purely visual mix-up. abwarten ([ˈapˌvaʁtn̩]) and abwerfen ([ˈapˌvɛʁfn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32512, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abwarten is recorded at frequency rank #5,337, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌvaʁtn̩]. abwerfen is at rank #27,175, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌvɛʁfn̩].
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 32512, this pair ranks #1,706,018 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abwarten vs abwerfen
Shared letters: abenrw. Private to "abwarten": t. Private to "abwerfen": f.
"abwarten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "abwerfen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abwarten" and "abwerfen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "abwarten" vs "abwerfen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "abwarten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abwerfen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,706,018 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abwarten" and "abwerfen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abwerfen vs anwerben". 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 #1,706,018 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.