abändern

[ˈapˌʔɛndɐn]

/[ˈapˌʔɛndɐn]/ verb

The verdict

“abändern” is uncommon German (frequency #51,085 among 113,935 “A” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,085
frequency rank, German
113,935
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - etwas ein wenig, meist zum Besseren, verändern/anpassen

Key facts for abändern
PropertyValue
Headwordabändern
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈapˌʔɛndɐn]
Letters8
Frequency rank#51,085
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “abändern” 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). abändern lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

abändern is uncommon German at frequency #51,085 among 113,935 “A” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [ˈapˌʔɛndɐn]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for abändern, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is abändern, spelled A-B-Ä-N-D-E-R-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    etwas ein wenig, meist zum Besseren, verändern/anpassen
  2. 2
    durch Änderung aufheben/beseitigen
  3. 3
    in den einzelnen grammatischen Fällen beugen
  4. 4
    durch Umweltfaktoren oder Mutation Variationen in den Artmerkmalen aufweisen

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "abändern"?
"abändern" is spelled A-B-Ä-N-D-E-R-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈapˌʔɛndɐn].
What does "abändern" mean?
As a verb, "abändern" means: etwas ein wenig, meist zum Besseren, verändern/anpassen
How do you pronounce "abändern"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abändern" is [ˈapˌʔɛndɐn]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "abändern" come from?
"abändern" 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.

Using “abändern”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is A-B-Ä-N-D-E-R-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈapˌʔɛndɐn] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Other uncommon German words near this rank

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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list