AbfragevsAnfragenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Abfrage” and “Anfragen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#32,893
“Abfrage” frequency rank
#5,676
“Anfragen” frequency rank
38569
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abfrage Anfragen
Definition Auswahl von Informationen aus einem elektronisch gespeicherten Datenbestand Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Anfrage

Where the eye mixes Abfrage and Anfragen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Abfrage runs 7 letters (VCCCVCV) against Anfragen's 8 (VCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Abfrage
8 ch
Anfragen

Visual trap between Abfrage and Anfragen

A purely visual mix-up. Abfrage ([ˈapˌfʁaːɡə]) and Anfragen ([ˈanˌfʁaːɡn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38569, 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]. Anfragen is at rank #5,676, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌfʁaːɡn̩].

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 38569, this pair ranks #1,560,460 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Abfrage vs Anfragen

Shared letters: aefgr. Private to "Abfrage": b. Private to "Anfragen": n.

"Abfrage" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV  ·  "Anfragen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abfrage ← abbfrage · abfarge · abffrage · abfraeg · abfragge · abfrgae · abfrrage · abrfage
  • Anfragen ← afnragen · anfargen · anffragen · anfraegn · anfragenn · anfraggen · anfragne · anfrgaen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Abfrage" and "Anfragen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌfʁaːɡə] versus [ˈanˌfʁaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Abfrage" or "Anfragen"?
"Anfragen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,676 in our German list, against #32,893 for "Abfrage". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Abfrage" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Anfragen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,560,460 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Abfrage" and "Anfragen" 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 #1,560,460 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list