Which to use
“abwenden” is a verb and “Abwendung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,145
- “abwenden” frequency rank
- #47,185
- “Abwendung” frequency rank
- 65330
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abwenden | Abwendung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (sich) zur Seite wegdrehen; sich von jemandem zurückziehen | Wegdrehen; Rückzug aus einer Situation |
Where the eye mixes abwenden and Abwendung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. abwenden runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against Abwendung's 9 (VCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abwenden with Abwendung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abwenden is [ˈapˌvɛndn̩] while Abwendung is [ˈapˌvɛndʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65330, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abwenden is recorded at frequency rank #18,145, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌvɛndn̩]. Abwendung is at rank #47,185, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌvɛndʊŋ].
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 65330, this pair ranks #610,693 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abwenden vs Abwendung
Shared letters: abdenw. Private to "abwenden": -. Private to "Abwendung": gu.
"abwenden" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "Abwendung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abwenden" and "Abwendung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "abwenden" or "Abwendung" show up more?
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 "abwenden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Abwendung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #610,693 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abwenden" and "Abwendung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abweisung vs Abwendung". 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 #610,693 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.