Which to use
“Abruf” and “Anruf” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,869
- “Abruf” frequency rank
- #4,180
- “Anruf” frequency rank
- 30049
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Abruf | Anruf |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Aufforderung zum Verlassen einer Position, eines Amtes | das Kontaktieren (beziehungsweise auch der Versuch dessen) per Telefon |
Where the eye mixes Abruf and Anruf
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Abruf and Anruf follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses Abruf with Anruf
A purely visual mix-up. Abruf ([ˈapˌʁuːf]) and Anruf ([ˈanˌʁuːf]) 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 “Abruf” becomes n in “Anruf”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30049, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Abruf is recorded at frequency rank #25,869, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌʁuːf]. Anruf is at rank #4,180, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌʁuːf].
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 30049, this pair ranks #1,755,363 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Abruf vs Anruf
Shared letters: afru. Private to "Abruf": b. Private to "Anruf": n.
"Abruf" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "Anruf" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Abruf" for "Anruf" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Abruf" vs "Anruf" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Abruf" and "Anruf" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Abruf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Anruf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,755,363 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Abruf" and "Anruf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abruf vs abtun". 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 #1,755,363 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.