Which to use
“abzulenken” and “abzulesen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,895
- “abzulenken” frequency rank
- #42,989
- “abzulesen” frequency rank
- 59884
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abzulenken | abzulesen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs ablenken | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs ablesen |
Where the eye mixes abzulenken and abzulesen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abzulenken runs 10 letters (VCCVCVCCVC) against abzulesen's 9 (VCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abzulenken with abzulesen
A purely visual mix-up. abzulenken ([ˈapt͡suˌlɛŋkn̩]) and abzulesen ([ˈapt͡suˌleːzn̩]) 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 59884, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abzulenken is recorded at frequency rank #16,895, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌlɛŋkn̩]. abzulesen is at rank #42,989, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌleːzn̩].
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 59884, this pair ranks #807,768 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abzulenken vs abzulesen
Shared letters: abelnuz. Private to "abzulenken": k. Private to "abzulesen": s.
"abzulenken" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC · "abzulesen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abzulenken ← abbzulenken · abuzlenken · abzluenken · abzuelnken · abzuleknen · abzulenekn · abzulenkenn · abzulenkken
- abzulesen ← abbzulesen · abuzlesen · abzluesen · abzuelsen · abzuleesn · abzulesenn · abzulesne · abzulessen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abzulenken" and "abzulesen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "abzulenken" or "abzulesen" show up more?
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 "abzulenken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abzulesen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #807,768 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abzulenken" and "abzulesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzulesen vs abzuweisen". 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 #807,768 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.