AachenvsanmachenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Aachen is a name, anmachen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Aachen” is a name and “anmachen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,699
“Aachen” frequency rank
#21,880
“anmachen” frequency rank
25579
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Aachen anmachen
Definition Stadt in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutschland etwas durch Mischen zum Gebrauch vorbereiten

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Aachen and anmachen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Aachen
8 ch
anmachen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Aachen is [ˈaːxn̩] while anmachen is [ˈanˌmaxn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25579, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Aachen is recorded at frequency rank #3,699, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈaːxn̩]. anmachen is at rank #21,880, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌmaxn̩].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 25579, this pair ranks #1,831,123 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Aachen vs anmachen

Shared letters: acehn. Private to "Aachen": -. Private to "anmachen": m.

"Aachen" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC  ·  "anmachen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Aachenaacchen · aacehn · aachenn · aachhen · aachne · aahcen · acahen · achen
  • anmachenamnachen · anamchen · anmacchen · anmacehn · anmachenn · anmachhen · anmachne · anmahcen

Frequency comparison

Aachen#3,699
anmachen#21,880

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Aachen" and "anmachen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Aachen" is a name and "anmachen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Aachen" or "anmachen"?
"Aachen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,699 in our German list, against #21,880 for "anmachen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Aachen vs anmachen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Aachen”; for a verb, it's “anmachen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Aachen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list