AlleenvsanlegenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#48,688
“Alleen” frequency rank
#5,453
“anlegen” frequency rank
54141
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Alleen anlegen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Allee etwas erschaffen oder erstellen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Alleen and anlegen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Alleen
7 ch
anlegen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Alleen is [aˈleːən] while anlegen is [ˈanˌleːɡn̩]. 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 54141, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Alleen is recorded at frequency rank #48,688, classified as anoun, pronounced [aˈleːən]. anlegen is at rank #5,453, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌleːɡn̩].

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 54141, this pair ranks #1,030,481 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Alleen vs anlegen

Shared letters: aeln. Private to "Alleen": -. Private to "anlegen": g.

"Alleen" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC  ·  "anlegen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Alleenaleen · alelen · alleenn · allene · laleen
  • anlegenalnegen · anelgen · anleegn · anlegenn · anleggen · anlegne · anlgeen · anllegen

Frequency comparison

Alleen#48,688
anlegen#5,453

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Alleen" and "anlegen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Alleen" is a noun and "anlegen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Alleen" or "anlegen"?
"anlegen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,453 in our German list, against #48,688 for "Alleen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Alleen vs anlegen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Alleen”; for a verb, it's “anlegen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Alleen” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list