abzusehenvsabzuwehrenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#16,076
“abzusehen” frequency rank
#27,176
“abzuwehren” frequency rank
43252
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abzusehen abzuwehren
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs absehen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abwehren

Where the eye mixes abzusehen and abzuwehren

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

9 ch
abzusehen
10 ch
abzuwehren

Why the eye confuses abzusehen with abzuwehren

A purely visual mix-up. abzusehen ([ˈapt͡suˌzeːən]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43252, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abzusehen is recorded at frequency rank #16,076, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌzeːən]. 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 43252, this pair ranks #1,423,975 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abzusehen vs abzuwehren

Shared letters: abehnuz. Private to "abzusehen": s. Private to "abzuwehren": rw.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abzusehenabbzusehen · abuzsehen · abzsuehen · abzueshen · abzuseehn · abzusehenn · abzusehhen · abzusehne
  • abzuwehrenabbzuwehren · abuzwehren · abzuewhren · abzuwehern · abzuwehhren · abzuwehrenn · abzuwehrne · abzuwehrren

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abzusehen" for "abzuwehren" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapt͡suˌzeːən] versus [ˈapt͡suˌveːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "abzusehen" or "abzuwehren" show up more?
"abzusehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,076 in our German list, against #27,176 for "abzuwehren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "abzusehen" 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 #1,423,975 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abzusehen" 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 #1,423,975 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