Which to use
“abrufen” is a verb and “Anrufe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,110
- “abrufen” frequency rank
- #10,222
- “Anrufe” frequency rank
- 29332
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abrufen | Anrufe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | auf Daten zugreifen | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Anruf |
Where the eye mixes abrufen and Anrufe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. abrufen runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against Anrufe's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: abrufen vs Anrufe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abrufen is [ˈapˌʁuːfn̩] while Anrufe is [ˈanˌʁuːfə]. 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 29332, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abrufen is recorded at frequency rank #19,110, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʁuːfn̩]. Anrufe is at rank #10,222, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌʁuːfə].
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 29332, this pair ranks #1,768,789 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abrufen vs Anrufe
Shared letters: aefnru. Private to "abrufen": b. Private to "Anrufe": -.
"abrufen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "Anrufe" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abrufen" for "Anrufe" ever safe?
Frequency check: "abrufen" vs "Anrufe" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abrufen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Anrufe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,768,789 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abrufen" and "Anrufe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abräumen vs abrufen". 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 #1,768,789 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.