Which to use
“abweisen” and “abwenden” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,338
- “abweisen” frequency rank
- #18,145
- “abwenden” frequency rank
- 55483
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abweisen | abwenden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Bitte, eine Anfrage ablehnen; einer Bitte oder Anfrage nicht nachkommen | (sich) zur Seite wegdrehen; sich von jemandem zurückziehen |
Where the eye mixes abweisen and abwenden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abweisen (VCCVVCVC) and abwenden (VCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between abweisen and abwenden
A purely visual mix-up. abweisen ([ˈapˌvaɪ̯zn̩]) and abwenden ([ˈapˌvɛndn̩]) 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 55483, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abweisen is recorded at frequency rank #37,338, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌvaɪ̯zn̩]. abwenden is at rank #18,145, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌvɛndn̩].
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 55483, this pair ranks #977,781 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abweisen vs abwenden
Shared letters: abenw. Private to "abweisen": is. Private to "abwenden": d.
"abweisen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC · "abwenden" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abweisen" and "abwenden" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "abweisen" vs "abwenden" - 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 "abweisen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abwenden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #977,781 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abweisen" and "abwenden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abweisen 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 #977,781 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.