anhebenvsanheuernConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#18,469
“anheben” frequency rank
#47,206
“anheuern” frequency rank
65675
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature anheben anheuern
Definition ein wenig in die Höhe heben Nautik: jemanden für den Dienst an Bord einstellen

Where the eye mixes anheben and anheuern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. anheben runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against anheuern's 8 (VCCVVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
anheben
8 ch
anheuern

Visual trap between anheben and anheuern

A purely visual mix-up. anheben ([ˈanˌheːbn̩]) and anheuern ([ˈanˌhɔɪ̯ɐn]) 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 65675, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

anheben is recorded at frequency rank #18,469, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌheːbn̩]. anheuern is at rank #47,206, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌhɔɪ̯ɐn].

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 65675, this pair ranks #598,844 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of anheben vs anheuern

Shared letters: aehn. Private to "anheben": b. Private to "anheuern": ru.

"anheben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "anheuern" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • anheben ← ahneben · anehben · anhbeen · anhebben · anhebenn · anhebne · anheebn · anhheben
  • anheuern ← ahneuern · anehuern · anheeurn · anheuenr · anheuernn · anheuerrn · anheuren · anhheuern

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "anheben" and "anheuern" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanˌheːbn̩] versus [ˈanˌhɔɪ̯ɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "anheben" or "anheuern"?
"anheben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,469 in our German list, against #47,206 for "anheuern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "anheben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "anheuern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #598,844 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "anheben" and "anheuern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abfeuern vs anheuern". 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 #598,844 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