ändertenvsanwerbenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#28,963
“änderten” frequency rank
#46,473
“anwerben” frequency rank
75436
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature änderten anwerben
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs ändern durch Werben für ein Sache gewinnen

Where the eye mixes änderten and anwerben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. änderten and anwerben follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
änderten
8 ch
anwerben

Why the eye confuses änderten with anwerben

A purely visual mix-up. änderten ([ˈɛndɐtn̩]) and anwerben ([ˈanˌvɛʁbn̩]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75436, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

änderten is recorded at frequency rank #28,963, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɛndɐtn̩]. anwerben is at rank #46,473, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌvɛʁbn̩].

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 75436, this pair ranks #308,053 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of änderten vs anwerben

Shared letters: enr. Private to "änderten": dtä. Private to "anwerben": abw.

"änderten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "anwerben" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • anwerben ← anewrben · annwerben · anwebren · anwerbben · anwerbenn · anwerbne · anwerebn · anwerrben

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "änderten" for "anwerben" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɛndɐtn̩] versus [ˈanˌvɛʁbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "änderten" or "anwerben" show up more?
"änderten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,963 in our German list, against #46,473 for "anwerben". 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 "änderten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "anwerben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #308,053 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "änderten" and "anwerben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "agierten vs änderten". 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 #308,053 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