abzusagenvsabzuwägenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#41,627
“abzusagen” frequency rank
#38,558
“abzuwägen” frequency rank
80185
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abzusagen abzuwägen
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs absagen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abwägen

Where the eye mixes abzusagen and abzuwägen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. abzusagen 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
abzusagen
9 ch
abzuwägen

Look-alike desk: abzusagen vs abzuwägen

A purely visual mix-up. abzusagen ([ˈapt͡suˌzaːɡn̩]) 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 80185, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abzusagen is recorded at frequency rank #41,627, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌzaːɡn̩]. 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 80185, this pair ranks #200,762 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abzusagen vs abzuwägen

Shared letters: abegnuz. Private to "abzusagen": s. Private to "abzuwägen": wä.

"abzusagen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC  ·  "abzuwägen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abzusagen ← abbzusagen · abuzsagen · abzsuagen · abzuasgen · abzusaegn · abzusagenn · abzusaggen · abzusagne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abzusagen" for "abzuwägen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapt͡suˌzaːɡn̩] versus [ˈapt͡suˌvɛːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abzusagen" or "abzuwägen"?
"abzuwägen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,558 in our German list, against #41,627 for "abzusagen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abzusagen" 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 #200,762 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abzusagen" and "abzuwägen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzusagen vs auszusagen". 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 #200,762 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