anbauenvsandauernConfusable pair

Which to use

“anbauen” and “andauern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#26,742
“anbauen” frequency rank
#28,054
“andauern” frequency rank
54796
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature anbauen andauern
Definition (etwas, ein zusätzliches Gebäudeteil) einem Gebäude hinzufügen sich weiter fortführen; zeitlich weitergehen

Where the eye mixes anbauen and andauern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. anbauen runs 7 letters (VCCVVVC) against andauern's 8 (VCCVVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
anbauen
8 ch
andauern

Visual trap between anbauen and andauern

A purely visual mix-up. anbauen ([ˈanˌbaʊ̯ən]) and andauern ([ˈanˌdaʊ̯ɐn]) 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 54796, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

anbauen is recorded at frequency rank #26,742, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌbaʊ̯ən]. andauern is at rank #28,054, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌdaʊ̯ɐn].

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 54796, this pair ranks #1,004,704 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of anbauen vs andauern

Shared letters: aenu. Private to "anbauen": b. Private to "andauern": dr.

"anbauen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVVC  ·  "andauern" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • anbauen ← abnauen · anabuen · anbaeun · anbauenn · anbaune · anbbauen · anbuaen · annbauen
  • andauern ← adnauern · anaduern · andaeurn · andauenr · andauernn · andauerrn · andauren · anddauern

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "anbauen" for "andauern" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanˌbaʊ̯ən] versus [ˈanˌdaʊ̯ɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "anbauen" or "andauern" show up more?
"anbauen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,742 in our German list, against #28,054 for "andauern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "anbauen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "andauern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,004,704 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "anbauen" and "andauern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "andauern vs anheuern". 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 #1,004,704 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list