ab

[ap]

/[ap]/ prep

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“ab” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #102) as a preposition. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#102
frequency rank, German
6,976
“A” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - von etwas weg, von jemandem weg, einem Ort weg, einem Punkt weg; ausgehend, beginnend mit, von; mehr als, vergrößert um, weniger als, verringert um, herunter, hinunter

Corpus desk

Index DE-ab · ab · German

ab · rank #102 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #102
  • LEN-SHORT 2 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,976
  • PHOTO-FINISH Zeit

Nearest frequency peer: Zeit (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “ab”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “ab” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ab vs an
50% similar
ab vs am
50% similar
ab vs AG
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ab
PropertyValue
Headwordab
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPreposition
IPA[ap]
Letters2
Frequency rank#102
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ab” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). ab lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for ab is neighbouring look-alikes ("an", "am", …), not just typos; it is apreposition pronounced [ap]. Frequency #102 among 6,976 “A” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Zero misspellings are on record for ab in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "an", "am", "AG", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is ab, spelled A-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    von etwas weg, von jemandem weg, einem Ort weg, einem Punkt weg; ausgehend, beginnend mit, von; mehr als, vergrößert um, weniger als, verringert um, herunter, hinunter
  2. 2
    von einem Zeitpunkt weg, künftig, zukünftig, von einer Mengenangabe ausgehend
  3. 3
    von einem Ort, Punkt weg; von … ab, von … an, von hier ab, von da ab

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ab appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Der Zug fährt erst ab Stuttgart.
  2. Ab drittem (auch: dritten) Oktober sind Schulferien.

Synonyms

vonvon … anseit

Antonyms

anbis

This word in other languages

from(English)desde(Español)à partir de(Français)de(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ab"?
"ab" is spelled A-B. The IPA pronunciation is [ap].
What does "ab" mean?
As a preposition, "ab" means: von etwas weg, von jemandem weg, einem Ort weg, einem Punkt weg; ausgehend, beginnend mit, von; mehr als, vergrößert um, weniger als, verringert um, herunter, hinunter
What words are commonly confused with "ab"?
"ab" is commonly confused with "an", "am", "AG". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ab"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ab" is [ap]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ab" come from?
"ab" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list