abzulegenvsabzuwägenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#21,151
“abzulegen” frequency rank
#38,558
“abzuwägen” frequency rank
59709
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abzulegen abzuwägen
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs ablegen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abwägen

Where the eye mixes abzulegen and abzuwägen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. abzulegen and abzuwägen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
abzulegen
9 ch
abzuwägen

Why the eye confuses abzulegen with abzuwägen

A purely visual mix-up. abzulegen ([ˈapt͡suˌleːɡn̩]) and abzuwägen ([ˈapt͡suˌvɛːɡn̩]) 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 59709, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abzulegen is recorded at frequency rank #21,151, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌleːɡn̩]. abzuwägen is at rank #38,558, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌvɛːɡn̩].

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 59709, this pair ranks #814,344 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abzulegen vs abzuwägen

Shared letters: abegnuz. Private to "abzulegen": l. Private to "abzuwägen": wä.

"abzulegen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC  ·  "abzuwägen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abzulegen ← abbzulegen · abuzlegen · abzluegen · abzuelgen · abzuleegn · abzulegenn · abzuleggen · abzulegne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abzulegen" for "abzuwägen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapt͡suˌleːɡn̩] versus [ˈapt͡suˌvɛːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abzulegen" vs "abzuwägen" - which ranks higher?
"abzulegen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,151 in our German list, against #38,558 for "abzuwägen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abzulegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abzuwägen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #814,344 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abzulegen" and "abzuwägen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzusagen vs abzuwägen". 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 #814,344 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