Which to use
“anfühlen” and “anführen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,035
- “anfühlen” frequency rank
- #18,799
- “anführen” frequency rank
- 43834
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | anfühlen | anführen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas mit den Fingern berühren | eine Gruppe von Personen oder etwas leiten |
Where the eye mixes anfühlen and anführen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. anfühlen and anführen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses anfühlen with anführen
A purely visual mix-up. anfühlen ([ˈanˌfyːlən]) and anführen ([ˈanˌfyːʁən]) 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 a single letter - l in “anfühlen” becomes r in “anführen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43834, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
anfühlen is recorded at frequency rank #25,035, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌfyːlən]. anführen is at rank #18,799, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌfyːʁən].
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 43834, this pair ranks #1,405,470 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of anfühlen vs anführen
Shared letters: aefhnü. Private to "anfühlen": l. Private to "anführen": r.
"anfühlen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "anführen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "anfühlen" and "anführen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "anfühlen" or "anführen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "anfühlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "anführen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,405,470 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "anfühlen" and "anführen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anfühlen vs anrühren". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,405,470 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.