abgeheben

Abgeheben is a nonstandard form related to the German verb abheben. In standard German, the correct past participle for the separable verb abheben is abgehoben. Abgeheben is usually considered a misspelling or nonstandard variant, though it may appear in informal writing or in error-prone contexts. The verb abheben itself means to lift off, to withdraw, or to detach, and it can be used in several figurative and literal senses.

With the sense of removing or withdrawing, abheben is commonly heard in the context of finance and everyday banking: Geld abheben means to withdraw money from a bank account or an ATM. For example: Ich habe gestern Geld abgehoben. The sense of lifting off or taking off is used for aircraft or spacecraft: Die Rakete hat abgehoben. Note that in this sense the correct participle is abgehoben, not abgeheben.

In a figurative sense, sich abheben means to stand out or to differ from others: Er hebt sich durch seine Leistung von der Konkurrenz ab. The verb can also appear in different constructions with separable prefixes, and the past participle consistently appears as abgehoben in perfect tense: er hat abgehoben, sie hat abgehoben.

Summary: abgeheben is not the standard participle form; abgehoben is correct. The word covers meanings from withdrawing money to taking off, and it can extend figuratively to mean distinguishing oneself. Avoid using abgeheben in formal writing; prefer abgehoben. See also the related verb abheben and its reflexive use sich abheben.