Which to use
“abwenden” and “aufwenden” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,145
- “abwenden” frequency rank
- #36,801
- “aufwenden” frequency rank
- 54946
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abwenden | aufwenden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (sich) zur Seite wegdrehen; sich von jemandem zurückziehen | etwas, meist um ein Ziel zu erreichen, verwenden oder einsetzen |
Where the eye mixes abwenden and aufwenden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. abwenden runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against aufwenden's 9 (VVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abwenden with aufwenden
A purely visual mix-up. abwenden ([ˈapˌvɛndn̩]) and aufwenden ([ˈaʊ̯fˌvɛndn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54946, 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]. aufwenden is at rank #36,801, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌvɛndn̩].
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 54946, this pair ranks #998,702 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abwenden vs aufwenden
Shared letters: adenw. Private to "abwenden": b. Private to "aufwenden": fu.
"abwenden" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "aufwenden" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abwenden" and "aufwenden" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "abwenden" vs "aufwenden" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abwenden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufwenden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #998,702 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abwenden" and "aufwenden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufwenden vs aussenden". 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 #998,702 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.