achtenvsÄstenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: achten is a verb, Ästen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“achten” is a verb and “Ästen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,378
“achten” frequency rank
#28,964
“Ästen” frequency rank
31342
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature achten Ästen
Definition auf etwas Acht geben, etwas Beachtung schenken Dativ Plural des Substantivs Ast

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set achten and Ästen apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
achten
5 ch
Ästen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: achten is [ˈaxtn̩] while Ästen is [ˈɛstn̩]. 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 31342, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

achten is recorded at frequency rank #2,378, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaxtn̩]. Ästen is at rank #28,964, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛstn̩].

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 31342, this pair ranks #1,730,044 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of achten vs Ästen

Shared letters: ent. Private to "achten": ach. Private to "Ästen": .

"achten" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC  ·  "Ästen" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • achtenacchten · achetn · achhten · achtenn · achtne · achtten · acthen · ahcten

Frequency comparison

achten#2,378
Ästen#28,964

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "achten" and "Ästen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "achten" is a verb and "Ästen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "achten" or "Ästen"?
"achten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,378 in our German list, against #28,964 for "Ästen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering achten vs Ästen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “achten”; for a noun, it's “Ästen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “achten” 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