angestelltvsanstelltWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: angestellt is a adjective, anstellt is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#5,138
“angestellt” frequency rank
#27,614
“anstellt” frequency rank
32752
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature angestellt anstellt
Definition in beruflicher Stellung seiend, eigene Arbeitskraft vertraglich gegen Entlohnung zur Verfügung stellend, Angestellter sein 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs anstellen

Where the eye mixes angestellt and anstellt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. angestellt runs 10 letters (VCCVCCVCCC) against anstellt's 8 (VCCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
angestellt
8 ch
anstellt

Why the eye confuses angestellt with anstellt

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: angestellt is [ˈanɡəˌʃtɛlt] while anstellt is [ˈanˌʃtɛlt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32752, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

angestellt is recorded at frequency rank #5,138, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈanɡəˌʃtɛlt]. anstellt is at rank #27,614, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌʃtɛlt].

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 32752, this pair ranks #1,700,768 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of angestellt vs anstellt

Shared letters: aelnst. Private to "angestellt": g. Private to "anstellt": -.

"angestellt" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCC  ·  "anstellt" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • angestelltagnestellt · anegstellt · angesetllt · angesstellt · angestelltt · angestelt · angesteltl · angestlelt
  • anstelltannstellt · ansetllt · ansstellt · anstelltt · anstelt · ansteltl · anstlelt · ansttellt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "angestellt" and "anstellt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "angestellt" is an adjective and "anstellt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "angestellt" or "anstellt"?
"angestellt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,138 in our German list, against #27,614 for "anstellt". 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 "angestellt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "anstellt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,700,768 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "angestellt" and "anstellt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anstellt vs ausstellt". 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 #1,700,768 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