Which to use
“abweisen” and “abzuweisen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,338
- “abweisen” frequency rank
- #47,186
- “abzuweisen” frequency rank
- 84524
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abweisen | abzuweisen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Bitte, eine Anfrage ablehnen; einer Bitte oder Anfrage nicht nachkommen | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abweisen |
Where the eye mixes abweisen and abzuweisen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abweisen runs 8 letters (VCCVVCVC) against abzuweisen's 10 (VCCVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abweisen with abzuweisen
A purely visual mix-up. abweisen ([ˈapˌvaɪ̯zn̩]) and abzuweisen ([ˈapt͡suˌvaɪ̯zn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84524, 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]. abzuweisen is at rank #47,186, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌvaɪ̯zn̩].
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 84524, this pair ranks #122,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of abweisen vs abzuweisen
Shared letters: abeinsw. Private to "abweisen": -. Private to "abzuweisen": uz.
"abweisen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC · "abzuweisen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abweisen ← abbweisen · abewisen · abweiesn · abweisenn · abweisne · abweissen · abwesien · abwiesen
- abzuweisen ← abbzuweisen · abuzweisen · abzuewisen · abzuweiesn · abzuweisenn · abzuweisne · abzuweissen · abzuwesien
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abweisen" and "abzuweisen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "abweisen" or "abzuweisen" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abweisen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abzuweisen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #122,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abweisen" and "abzuweisen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzuweisen vs aufzuweisen". 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 #122,385 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.