abzuweisenvsabzuwendenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#47,186
“abzuweisen” frequency rank
#20,485
“abzuwenden” frequency rank
67671
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abzuweisen abzuwenden
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abweisen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abwenden

Where the eye mixes abzuweisen and abzuwenden

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abzuweisen (VCCVCVVCVC) and abzuwenden (VCCVCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

10 ch
abzuweisen
10 ch
abzuwenden

Look-alike desk: abzuweisen vs abzuwenden

A purely visual mix-up. abzuweisen ([ˈapt͡suˌvaɪ̯zn̩]) and abzuwenden ([ˈapt͡suˌvɛndn̩]) 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 67671, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abzuweisen is recorded at frequency rank #47,186, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌvaɪ̯zn̩]. abzuwenden is at rank #20,485, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌvɛndn̩].

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 67671, this pair ranks #532,565 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abzuweisen vs abzuwenden

Shared letters: abenuwz. Private to "abzuweisen": is. Private to "abzuwenden": d.

"abzuweisen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVVCVC  ·  "abzuwenden" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abzuweisen ← abbzuweisen · abuzweisen · abzuewisen · abzuweiesn · abzuweisenn · abzuweisne · abzuweissen · abzuwesien
  • abzuwenden ← abbzuwenden · abuzwenden · abzuewnden · abzuwednen · abzuwendden · abzuwendenn · abzuwendne · abzuwenedn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abzuweisen" for "abzuwenden" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapt͡suˌvaɪ̯zn̩] versus [ˈapt͡suˌvɛndn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abzuweisen" or "abzuwenden"?
"abzuwenden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,485 in our German list, against #47,186 for "abzuweisen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "abzuweisen" and "abzuwenden" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abzuweisen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abzuwenden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #532,565 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abzuweisen" and "abzuwenden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzuweisen vs aufzuweisen". 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 #532,565 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