Abbau

[ˈapˌbaʊ̯]

/[ˈapˌbaʊ̯]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Abbau” sits in 18 confusable pairs (corpus #6,497) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#6,497
frequency rank, German
6,976
“A” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - die Beseitigung, der Rückbau von baulichen und anderen (auch zeitweilig errichteten) technischen oder künstlichen Anlagen, Einrichtungen, Aufbauten und Ähnlichem

Corpus desk

Index DE-abbau · Abbau · German

Abbau · rank #6,497 · 4 variants · 18 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,497
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 18 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,976
  • PHOTO-FINISH Abhängigkeit

Nearest frequency peer: Abhängigkeit (+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 “Abbau”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “Abbau” 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).

Abbau vs abu
40% similar
Abbau vs alba
40% similar
Abbau vs Abby
60% similar

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

Key facts for Abbau
PropertyValue
HeadwordAbbau
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈapˌbaʊ̯]
Letters5
Frequency rank#6,497
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Abbau” 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). Abbau 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 Abbau is neighbouring look-alikes ("abu", "alba", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced [ˈapˌbaʊ̯]. Frequency #6,497 among 6,976 “A” headwords. 5 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for Abbau, with forms such as "ababu", "abau", and "abbua". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "abu", "alba", "Abby", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is Abbau, spelled A-B-B-A-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    die Beseitigung, der Rückbau von baulichen und anderen (auch zeitweilig errichteten) technischen oder künstlichen Anlagen, Einrichtungen, Aufbauten und Ähnlichem
  2. 2
    die Gewinnung von Rohstoffen, Baustoffen vor allem durch Bergbau und ähnliche Technologien
  3. 3
    die Verringerung, Beseitigung, Minderung von Beständen
  4. 4
    der Übergang von komplexeren zu einfacheren Strukturen und Formen, die Umwandlung zu geringer wertigen Zuständen oder Qualitäten
  5. 5
    abseits einer Ortslage im 19. Jahrhundert entstandene Siedlerstelle auf privatem Grund und Boden, jedoch ohne landwirtschaftliche Nutzflächen ; Plural: Abbaue

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Auf den Verkauf der veralteten Fabrik erfolgte der komplette Abbau. Die Einzelteile wurden später nach China verkauft.
  2. „Der Abbau von Steinkohle ist seit dem 9. Jahrhundert in England bekannt.“

Synonyms

AuflösungBeseitigungDemontageDestruktionRückbauZerstörungBaustoffgewinnungBrennstoffgewinnungErzgewinnungRohstoffgewinnungBeseitigungEntfernungEnthemmungEntwirrungMinderungSimplifizierungVereinfachungVerringerungZersetzungBrink

Antonyms

AufbauRekultivierung

This word in other languages

dismantling(English)desmantelamiento(Español)démantèlement(Français)extração(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ababu
  • abau
  • abbua
  • babau

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Abbau - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ababu2abau1abbua2babau2
Edit distance from "Abbau"

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 "Abbau"?
"Abbau" is spelled A-B-B-A-U. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈapˌbaʊ̯].
What does "Abbau" mean?
As a noun, "Abbau" means: die Beseitigung, der Rückbau von baulichen und anderen (auch zeitweilig errichteten) technischen oder künstlichen Anlagen, Einrichtungen, Aufbauten und Ähnlichem
What words are commonly confused with "Abbau"?
"Abbau" is commonly confused with "abu", "alba", "Abby". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Abbau"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Abbau" is [ˈapˌbaʊ̯]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Abbau" come from?
"Abbau" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Abbau", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Anbau#6,501weich#6,487Blase#6,517Couch#6,522
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