Which to use
“Abwehr” is a noun and “abwehren” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,138
- “Abwehr” frequency rank
- #26,288
- “abwehren” frequency rank
- 32426
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Abwehr | abwehren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Maßnahme, um einen Angriff oder dessen beabsichtigte Auswirkung zu stoppen | etwas oder jemanden zurückschlagen, um auf einen Angriff zu reagieren |
Where the eye mixes Abwehr and abwehren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Abwehr runs 6 letters (VCCVCC) against abwehren's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Abwehr vs abwehren
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Abwehr is [ˈapˌveːɐ̯] while abwehren is [ˈapˌveːʁən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Abwehr” sits inside “abwehren”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32426, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Abwehr is recorded at frequency rank #6,138, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌveːɐ̯]. abwehren is at rank #26,288, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌveːʁən].
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 32426, this pair ranks #1,707,815 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Abwehr vs abwehren
Shared letters: abehrw. Private to "Abwehr": -. Private to "abwehren": n.
"Abwehr" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "abwehren" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Abwehr" and "abwehren" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Abwehr" or "abwehren" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Abwehr" and "abwehren" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Abwehr" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abwehren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,707,815 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Abwehr" and "abwehren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abwehren vs abweisen". 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 #1,707,815 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.