AnfangvsanfangsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Anfang is a noun, anfangs is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Anfang” is a noun and “anfangs” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#456
“Anfang” frequency rank
#2,577
“anfangs” frequency rank
3033
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Anfang anfangs
Definition zeitlicher oder räumlicher Beginn oder Ausgangspunkt eines Vorgangs oder einer Sache am Anfang

Where the eye mixes Anfang and anfangs

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Anfang
7 ch
anfangs

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Anfang is [ˈanˌfaŋ] while anfangs is [ˈanfaŋs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Anfang” sits inside “anfangs”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3033, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Anfang is recorded at frequency rank #456, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌfaŋ]. anfangs is at rank #2,577, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈanfaŋs].

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 3033, this pair ranks #2,001,098 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Anfang vs anfangs

Shared letters: afgn. Private to "Anfang": -. Private to "anfangs": s.

"Anfang" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "anfangs" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Anfangafnang · anafng · anfagn · anfangg · anfanng · anffang · anfnag · annfang
  • anfangsafnangs · anafngs · anfagns · anfanggs · anfangss · anfanngs · anfansg · anffangs

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Anfang" and "anfangs" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Anfang" is a noun and "anfangs" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Anfang" or "anfangs"?
"Anfang" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #456 in our German list, against #2,577 for "anfangs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "Anfang" and "anfangs". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Anfang" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "anfangs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,001,098 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Anfang" and "anfangs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anfangs vs Anhänge". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list