anfangsvsAnhangWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,577
“anfangs” frequency rank
#8,330
“Anhang” frequency rank
10907
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature anfangs Anhang
Definition am Anfang zusätzlich Beiliegendes, Beigefügtes, etwas daneben übermitteltes, das Weitere, Zusätzliches, das daneben Bestehende oder Vorhandene; auch: (Schriftwesen:) hinten angefügter Abschnitt, einer E-Mail beigefügte Datei, (Wirtschaft:) erläuternde, ergänzende Dokumente des Jahresabschlusses eines Unternehmens(Jurisprudenz:) spezifische Ergänzung eines Gesetzestextes

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set anfangs and Anhang apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
anfangs
6 ch
Anhang

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: anfangs is [ˈanfaŋs] while Anhang is [ˈanhaŋ]. 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 (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10907, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

anfangs is recorded at frequency rank #2,577, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈanfaŋs]. Anhang is at rank #8,330, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanhaŋ].

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 10907, this pair ranks #1,972,693 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of anfangs vs Anhang

Shared letters: agn. Private to "anfangs": fs. Private to "Anhang": h.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • anfangsafnangs · anafngs · anfagns · anfanggs · anfangss · anfanngs · anfansg · anffangs
  • Anhangahnang · anahng · anhagn · anhangg · anhanng · anhhang · anhnag · annhang

Frequency comparison

anfangs#2,577
Anhang#8,330

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "anfangs" and "Anhang" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "anfangs" is an adverb and "Anhang" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "anfangs" or "Anhang"?
"anfangs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,577 in our German list, against #8,330 for "Anhang". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering anfangs vs Anhang

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “anfangs”; for a noun, it's “Anhang”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “anfangs” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list