angespanntvsangespanntenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: angespannt is a verb, angespannten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“angespannt” is a verb and “angespannten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,292
“angespannt” frequency rank
#39,784
“angespannten” frequency rank
55076
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature angespannt angespannten
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs anspannen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs angespannt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set angespannt and angespannten apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
angespannt
12 ch
angespannten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: angespannt is [ˈanɡəˌʃpant] while angespannten is [ˈanɡəˌʃpantn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “angespannt” sits inside “angespannten”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55076, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

angespannt is recorded at frequency rank #15,292, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanɡəˌʃpant]. angespannten is at rank #39,784, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈanɡəˌʃpantn̩].

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 55076, this pair ranks #993,634 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of angespannt vs angespannten

Shared letters: aegnpst. Private to "angespannt": -. Private to "angespannten": -.

"angespannt" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCC  ·  "angespannten" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • angespanntagnespannt · anegspannt · angepsannt · angesapnnt · angespanntt · angespant · angespantn · angespnant
  • angespanntenagnespannten · anegspannten · angepsannten · angesapnnten · angespannetn · angespanntenn · angespanntne · angespanntten

Frequency comparison

angespannt#15,292
angespannten#39,784

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "angespannt" and "angespannten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "angespannt" is a verb and "angespannten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "angespannt" or "angespannten"?
"angespannt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,292 in our German list, against #39,784 for "angespannten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering angespannt vs angespannten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “angespannt”; for an adjective, it's “angespannten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “angespannt” 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