abfragen
[ˈapˌfʁaːɡn̩]
The verdict
“abfragen” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #33,414 in German word frequency and used as a verb.
- #33,414
- frequency rank, German
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 12
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Prüfungsfragen stellen
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | abfragen |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [ˈapˌfʁaːɡn̩] |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #33,414 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 12 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “abfragen” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for abfragen is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈapˌfʁaːɡn̩]. Corpus data places it at rank #33,414 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for abfragen, with forms such as "abbfragen", "abfargen", and "abffragen". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "Anfrage", "absagen", "abwägen", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, 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 abfragen, spelled A-B-F-R-A-G-E-N.
Definition
- 1Prüfungsfragen stellen
- 2etwas durch Fragen erfahren
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: abbfragen,abfargen,abffragen,abfraegn,abfragenn,abfraggen,abfragne,abfrgaen,abfrragen,abrfagen,afbragen,bafragen
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of abfragen - 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.
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 "abfragen"?
What does "abfragen" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "abfragen"?
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Using “abfragen”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is A-B-F-R-A-G-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈapˌfʁaːɡn̩] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Anfrage” - see the side-by-side comparison. abfragen vs Anfrage
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
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.