AbkehrvsAnkerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,488
“Abkehr” frequency rank
#11,001
“Anker” frequency rank
28489
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abkehr Anker
Definition nicht weiteres Verfolgen einer einmal eingeschlagenen Richtung, Beendigung eines Verhaltens, Distanzierung von einer Person Eisenhaken an einer langen Kette zum Festlegen schwimmender Fahrzeuge am Fluss- oder Meeresboden

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Abkehr and Anker apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Abkehr
5 ch
Anker

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Abkehr ([ˈapkeːɐ̯]) and Anker ([ˈaŋkɐ]) 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 28489, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abkehr is recorded at frequency rank #17,488, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapkeːɐ̯]. Anker is at rank #11,001, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaŋkɐ].

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 28489, this pair ranks #1,783,838 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Abkehr vs Anker

Shared letters: aekr. Private to "Abkehr": bh. Private to "Anker": n.

"Abkehr" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "Anker" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abkehrabbkehr · abekhr · abkehhr · abkehrr · abkerh · abkher · abkkehr · akbehr
  • Ankerakner · anekr · ankerr · ankker · ankre · annker · naker

Frequency comparison

Abkehr#17,488
Anker#11,001

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Abkehr" and "Anker" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapkeːɐ̯] versus [ˈaŋkɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Abkehr" or "Anker"?
"Anker" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,001 in our German list, against #17,488 for "Abkehr". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Abkehr vs Anker

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Abkehr” 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