Which to use
“Altbau” and “Anbau” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,516
- “Altbau” frequency rank
- #6,501
- “Anbau” frequency rank
- 28017
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Altbau | Anbau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | älteres Gebäude, welches noch vor einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt — in der Regel noch vor dem Zweiten Weltkrieg — fertiggestellt worden ist | Kultivierung von Nutz- oder Zierpflanzen |
Where the eye mixes Altbau and Anbau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Altbau runs 6 letters (VCCCVV) against Anbau's 5 (VCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Altbau with Anbau
A purely visual mix-up. Altbau ([ˈaltˌbaʊ̯]) and Anbau ([ˈanˌbaʊ̯]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28017, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Altbau is recorded at frequency rank #21,516, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaltˌbaʊ̯]. Anbau is at rank #6,501, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌbaʊ̯].
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 28017, this pair ranks #1,792,005 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Altbau vs Anbau
Shared letters: abu. Private to "Altbau": lt. Private to "Anbau": n.
"Altbau" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVV · "Anbau" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Altbau" and "Anbau" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Altbau" or "Anbau" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Altbau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Anbau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,792,005 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Altbau" and "Anbau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Alban vs Altbau". 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 #1,792,005 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.