abhängigvsanhängigConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,528
“abhängig” frequency rank
#37,356
“anhängig” frequency rank
39884
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abhängig anhängig
Definition nicht ohne etwas oder jemanden zurechtkommend Eigenschaft eines Vorgangs nach Befassung einer für den Vorgang entscheidenden Stelle. Bei der Stelle handelt es sich in der Regel um ein Gericht oder eine Behörde gelegentlich jedoch auch um zivile Einrichtungen oder Personen.

Where the eye mixes abhängig and anhängig

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. abhängig and anhängig follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
abhängig
8 ch
anhängig

Why the eye confuses abhängig with anhängig

A purely visual mix-up. abhängig ([ˈapˌhɛŋɪç]) and anhängig ([ˈanhɛŋɪç]) 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 “abhängig” becomes n in “anhängig”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39884, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abhängig is recorded at frequency rank #2,528, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈapˌhɛŋɪç]. anhängig is at rank #37,356, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈanhɛŋɪç].

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 39884, this pair ranks #1,524,151 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abhängig vs anhängig

Shared letters: aghinä. Private to "abhängig": b. Private to "anhängig": -.

"abhängig" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "anhängig" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abhängig" for "anhängig" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌhɛŋɪç] versus [ˈanhɛŋɪç]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abhängig" vs "anhängig" - which ranks higher?
"abhängig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,528 in our German list, against #37,356 for "anhängig". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "abhängig" and "anhängig" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abhängig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "anhängig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,524,151 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abhängig" and "anhängig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Anhänge vs anhängig". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,524,151 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