Which to use
“Abwendung” and “Anwendung” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,185
- “Abwendung” frequency rank
- #2,015
- “Anwendung” frequency rank
- 49200
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Abwendung | Anwendung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Wegdrehen; Rückzug aus einer Situation | das Verwenden, Benutzen einer Sache zu einem gewissen Zweck |
Where the eye mixes Abwendung and Anwendung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Abwendung and Anwendung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses Abwendung with Anwendung
A purely visual mix-up. Abwendung ([ˈapˌvɛndʊŋ]) and Anwendung ([ˈanvɛndʊŋ]) 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 a single letter - b in “Abwendung” becomes n in “Anwendung”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49200, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Abwendung is recorded at frequency rank #47,185, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌvɛndʊŋ]. Anwendung is at rank #2,015, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanvɛndʊŋ].
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 49200, this pair ranks #1,220,360 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Abwendung vs Anwendung
Shared letters: adegnuw. Private to "Abwendung": b. Private to "Anwendung": -.
"Abwendung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC · "Anwendung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Abwendung" and "Anwendung" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Abwendung" or "Anwendung" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Abwendung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Anwendung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,220,360 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Abwendung" and "Anwendung" 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 #1,220,360 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.