abzulehnenvsabzusehenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,808
“abzulehnen” frequency rank
#16,076
“abzusehen” frequency rank
31884
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abzulehnen abzusehen
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs ablehnen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs absehen

Where the eye mixes abzulehnen and abzusehen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abzulehnen runs 10 letters (VCCVCVCCVC) against abzusehen's 9 (VCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
abzulehnen
9 ch
abzusehen

Visual trap between abzulehnen and abzusehen

A purely visual mix-up. abzulehnen ([ˈapt͡suˌleːnən]) and abzusehen ([ˈapt͡suˌzeːən]) 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 31884, 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]. abzusehen is at rank #16,076, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌzeːən].

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 31884, this pair ranks #1,719,075 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abzulehnen vs abzusehen

Shared letters: abehnuz. Private to "abzulehnen": l. Private to "abzusehen": s.

"abzulehnen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC  ·  "abzusehen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abzulehnen ← abbzulehnen · abuzlehnen · abzluehnen · abzuelhnen · abzulehenn · abzulehhnen · abzulehnenn · abzulehnne
  • abzusehen ← abbzusehen · abuzsehen · abzsuehen · abzueshen · abzuseehn · abzusehenn · abzusehhen · abzusehne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "abzulehnen" and "abzusehen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapt͡suˌleːnən] versus [ˈapt͡suˌzeːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abzulehnen" vs "abzusehen" - which ranks higher?
"abzulehnen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,808 in our German list, against #16,076 for "abzusehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "abzulehnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abzusehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,719,075 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abzulehnen" and "abzusehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzulesen vs abzusehen". 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 #1,719,075 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