Which to use
“Abfrage” and “Anfrage” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,893
- “Abfrage” frequency rank
- #3,018
- “Anfrage” frequency rank
- 35911
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Abfrage | Anfrage |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Auswahl von Informationen aus einem elektronisch gespeicherten Datenbestand | Frage an jemanden, mit der eine Antwort erwartet wird |
Where the eye mixes Abfrage and Anfrage
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Abfrage and Anfrage follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: Abfrage vs Anfrage
A purely visual mix-up. Abfrage ([ˈapˌfʁaːɡə]) and Anfrage ([ˈanˌfʁaːɡə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - b in “Abfrage” becomes n in “Anfrage”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35911, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Abfrage is recorded at frequency rank #32,893, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌfʁaːɡə]. Anfrage is at rank #3,018, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌfʁaːɡə].
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 35911, this pair ranks #1,628,505 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Abfrage vs Anfrage
Shared letters: aefgr. Private to "Abfrage": b. Private to "Anfrage": n.
"Abfrage" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV · "Anfrage" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Abfrage" and "Anfrage" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Abfrage" or "Anfrage"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Abfrage" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Anfrage" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,628,505 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Abfrage" and "Anfrage" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abfrage vs abtragen". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,628,505 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.