Which to use
“abzunehmen” and “abzuwehren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,793
- “abzunehmen” frequency rank
- #27,176
- “abzuwehren” frequency rank
- 44969
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abzunehmen | abzuwehren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abnehmen | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abwehren |
Where the eye mixes abzunehmen and abzuwehren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abzunehmen and abzuwehren follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: abzunehmen vs abzuwehren
A purely visual mix-up. abzunehmen ([ˈapt͡suˌneːmən]) and abzuwehren ([ˈapt͡suˌveːʁən]) 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 44969, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abzunehmen is recorded at frequency rank #17,793, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌneːmən]. abzuwehren is at rank #27,176, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌveːʁən].
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 44969, this pair ranks #1,368,732 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abzunehmen vs abzuwehren
Shared letters: abehnuz. Private to "abzunehmen": m. Private to "abzuwehren": rw.
"abzunehmen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC · "abzuwehren" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abzunehmen ← abbzunehmen · abuznehmen · abznuehmen · abzuenhmen · abzunehemn · abzunehhmen · abzunehmenn · abzunehmmen
- abzuwehren ← abbzuwehren · abuzwehren · abzuewhren · abzuwehern · abzuwehhren · abzuwehrenn · abzuwehrne · abzuwehrren
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abzunehmen" and "abzuwehren" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "abzunehmen" or "abzuwehren" 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 "abzunehmen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abzuwehren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,368,732 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abzunehmen" and "abzuwehren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzuwehren 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 #1,368,732 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.