AbweichungvsAbweichungenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,807
“Abweichung” frequency rank
#12,222
“Abweichungen” frequency rank
28029
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abweichung Abweichungen
Definition die Nichterfüllung einer Regelmäßigkeit Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Abweichung

Where the eye mixes Abweichung and Abweichungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. Abweichung runs 10 letters (VCCVVCCVCC) against Abweichungen's 12 (VCCVVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
Abweichung
12 ch
Abweichungen

Why the eye confuses Abweichung with Abweichungen

A purely visual mix-up. Abweichung ([ˈapˌvaɪ̯çʊŋ]) and Abweichungen ([ˈapˌvaɪ̯çʊŋən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Abweichung” sits inside “Abweichungen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28029, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abweichung is recorded at frequency rank #15,807, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌvaɪ̯çʊŋ]. Abweichungen is at rank #12,222, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌvaɪ̯çʊŋən].

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 28029, this pair ranks #1,791,803 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Abweichung vs Abweichungen

Shared letters: abceghinuw. Private to "Abweichung": -. Private to "Abweichungen": -.

"Abweichung" · 10 letters · shape VCCVVCCVCC  ·  "Abweichungen" · 12 letters · shape VCCVVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abweichung ← abbweichung · abewichung · abwecihung · abweicchung · abweichhung · abweichnug · abweichugn · abweichungg
  • Abweichungen ← abbweichungen · abewichungen · abwecihungen · abweicchungen · abweichhungen · abweichnugen · abweichugnen · abweichunegn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Abweichung" for "Abweichungen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌvaɪ̯çʊŋ] versus [ˈapˌvaɪ̯çʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Abweichung" vs "Abweichungen" - which ranks higher?
"Abweichungen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,222 in our German list, against #15,807 for "Abweichung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Abweichung" and "Abweichungen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Abweichung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Abweichungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,791,803 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Abweichung" and "Abweichungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abweichung vs Abweisung". 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 #1,791,803 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