Which to use
“ahnen” and “atmen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,323
- “ahnen” frequency rank
- #6,630
- “atmen” frequency rank
- 14953
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ahnen | atmen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Befürchtung haben | Luft in die Lunge und wieder hinauspumpen |
Where the eye mixes ahnen and atmen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ahnen vs atmen
A purely visual mix-up. ahnen ([ˈaːnən]) and atmen ([ˈaːtmən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14953, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ahnen is recorded at frequency rank #8,323, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaːnən]. atmen is at rank #6,630, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaːtmən].
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 14953, this pair ranks #1,947,512 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ahnen vs atmen
Shared letters: aen. Private to "ahnen": h. Private to "atmen": mt.
"ahnen" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "atmen" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ahnen" and "atmen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "ahnen" or "atmen"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ahnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "atmen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,947,512 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ahnen" and "atmen" 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 #1,947,512 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.