Which to use
“abläuft” is a verb and “Anlauf” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,226
- “abläuft” frequency rank
- #11,807
- “Anlauf” frequency rank
- 26033
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abläuft | Anlauf |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs ablaufen | das Laufen vor einem Sprung oder Stoß, um Schwung zu holen |
Where the eye mixes abläuft and Anlauf
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. abläuft runs 7 letters (VCCVVCC) against Anlauf's 6 (VCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between abläuft and Anlauf
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abläuft is [ˈapˌlɔɪ̯ft] while Anlauf is [ˈanˌlaʊ̯f]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26033, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abläuft is recorded at frequency rank #14,226, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌlɔɪ̯ft]. Anlauf is at rank #11,807, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌlaʊ̯f].
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 26033, this pair ranks #1,824,218 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abläuft vs Anlauf
Shared letters: aflu. Private to "abläuft": btä. Private to "Anlauf": n.
"abläuft" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCC · "Anlauf" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Anlauf ← alnauf · analuf · anlafu · anlauff · anllauf · anluaf · annlauf · nalauf
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abläuft" and "Anlauf" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "abläuft" or "Anlauf" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abläuft" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Anlauf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,824,218 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abläuft" and "Anlauf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abläuft vs Anläufe". 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 #1,824,218 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.