abzuhebenvsanzugebenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“abzuheben” and “anzugeben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#38,557
“abzuheben” frequency rank
#15,296
“anzugeben” frequency rank
53853
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abzuheben anzugeben
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abheben erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs angeben

Where the eye mixes abzuheben and anzugeben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
abzuheben
9 ch
anzugeben

Visual trap between abzuheben and anzugeben

A purely visual mix-up. abzuheben ([ˈapt͡suˌheːbn̩]) and anzugeben ([ˈant͡suˌɡeːbn̩]) 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 53853, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abzuheben is recorded at frequency rank #38,557, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌheːbn̩]. anzugeben is at rank #15,296, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈant͡suˌɡeːbn̩].

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 53853, this pair ranks #1,041,792 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abzuheben vs anzugeben

Shared letters: abenuz. Private to "abzuheben": h. Private to "anzugeben": g.

"abzuheben" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC  ·  "anzugeben" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abzuhebenabbzuheben · abuzheben · abzhueben · abzuehben · abzuhbeen · abzuhebben · abzuhebenn · abzuhebne
  • anzugebenannzugeben · anuzgeben · anzgueben · anzuegben · anzugbeen · anzugebben · anzugebenn · anzugebne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "abzuheben" and "anzugeben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapt͡suˌheːbn̩] versus [ˈant͡suˌɡeːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abzuheben" vs "anzugeben" - which ranks higher?
"anzugeben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,296 in our German list, against #38,557 for "abzuheben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abzuheben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "anzugeben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,041,792 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abzuheben" and "anzugeben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzuheben vs abzulesen". 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 #1,041,792 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list