ändertvsAnkerWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#2,527
“ändert” frequency rank
#11,001
“Anker” frequency rank
13528
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ändert Anker
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ändern Eisenhaken an einer langen Kette zum Festlegen schwimmender Fahrzeuge am Fluss- oder Meeresboden

Where the eye mixes ändert and Anker

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. ändert runs 6 letters (VCCVCC) against Anker's 5 (VCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
ändert
5 ch
Anker

Look-alike desk: ändert vs Anker

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ändert is [ˈɛndɐt] while Anker is [ˈaŋkɐ]. 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 13528, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ändert is recorded at frequency rank #2,527, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɛndɐt]. Anker is at rank #11,001, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaŋkɐ].

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 13528, this pair ranks #1,957,419 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ändert vs Anker

Shared letters: enr. Private to "ändert": dtä. Private to "Anker": ak.

"ändert" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "Anker" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Anker ← akner · anekr · ankerr · ankker · ankre · annker · naker

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ändert" for "Anker" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ändert" is a verb and "Anker" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ändert" or "Anker"?
"ändert" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,527 in our German list, against #11,001 for "Anker". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ändert" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Anker" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,957,419 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ändert" and "Anker" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Anker vs answer". 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 #1,957,419 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