Which to use
“abzulehnen” and “abzulenken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,808
- “abzulehnen” frequency rank
- #16,895
- “abzulenken” frequency rank
- 32703
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abzulehnen | abzulenken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs ablehnen | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs ablenken |
Where the eye mixes abzulehnen and abzulenken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. abzulehnen and abzulenken follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: abzulehnen vs abzulenken
A purely visual mix-up. abzulehnen ([ˈapt͡suˌleːnən]) and abzulenken ([ˈapt͡suˌlɛŋkn̩]) 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 32703, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abzulehnen is recorded at frequency rank #15,808, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌleːnən]. abzulenken is at rank #16,895, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌlɛŋkn̩].
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 32703, this pair ranks #1,701,864 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abzulehnen vs abzulenken
Shared letters: abelnuz. Private to "abzulehnen": h. Private to "abzulenken": k.
"abzulehnen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC · "abzulenken" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abzulehnen ← abbzulehnen · abuzlehnen · abzluehnen · abzuelhnen · abzulehenn · abzulehhnen · abzulehnenn · abzulehnne
- abzulenken ← abbzulenken · abuzlenken · abzluenken · abzuelnken · abzuleknen · abzulenekn · abzulenkenn · abzulenkken
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abzulehnen" and "abzulenken" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "abzulehnen" or "abzulenken" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "abzulehnen" and "abzulenken" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abzulehnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abzulenken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,701,864 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abzulehnen" and "abzulenken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzulenken 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 #1,701,864 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.