AnglervsAnkerConfusable pair

Which to use

“Angler” and “Anker” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#27,187
“Angler” frequency rank
#11,001
“Anker” frequency rank
38188
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Angler Anker
Definition jemand, der (normalerweise mit einer Angel) versucht, Fische zu fangen Eisenhaken an einer langen Kette zum Festlegen schwimmender Fahrzeuge am Fluss- oder Meeresboden

Where the eye mixes Angler and Anker

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Angler runs 6 letters (VCCCVC) against Anker's 5 (VCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Angler
5 ch
Anker

Why the eye confuses Angler with Anker

A purely visual mix-up. Angler ([ˈaŋlɐ]) and Anker ([ˈaŋkɐ]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38188, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Angler is recorded at frequency rank #27,187, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaŋlɐ]. Anker is at rank #11,001, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaŋkɐ].

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 38188, this pair ranks #1,570,553 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Angler vs Anker

Shared letters: aenr. Private to "Angler": gl. Private to "Anker": k.

"Angler" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC  ·  "Anker" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Angler ← agnler · angelr · anggler · anglerr · angller · anglre · anlger · anngler
  • Anker ← akner · anekr · ankerr · ankker · ankre · annker · naker

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Angler" for "Anker" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaŋlɐ] versus [ˈaŋkɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Angler" vs "Anker" - which ranks higher?
"Anker" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,001 in our German list, against #27,187 for "Angler". 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 "Angler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Anker" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,570,553 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Angler" and "Anker" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "angle vs Angler". 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 #1,570,553 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