Which to use
“Achsen” is a noun and “ahnen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,622
- “Achsen” frequency rank
- #8,323
- “ahnen” frequency rank
- 24945
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Achsen | ahnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Achse | eine Befürchtung haben |
Where the eye mixes Achsen and ahnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Achsen vs ahnen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Achsen is [ˈaksn̩] while ahnen is [ˈaːnən]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24945, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Achsen is recorded at frequency rank #16,622, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaksn̩]. ahnen is at rank #8,323, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaːnən].
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 24945, this pair ranks #1,840,365 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Achsen vs ahnen
Shared letters: aehn. Private to "Achsen": cs. Private to "ahnen": -.
"Achsen" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC · "ahnen" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Achsen" for "ahnen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Achsen" vs "ahnen" - 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 "Achsen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ahnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,840,365 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Achsen" and "ahnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ahnden vs ahnen". 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 #1,840,365 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.