Which to use
“anhören” is a verb and “Anhörung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,143
- “anhören” frequency rank
- #11,588
- “Anhörung” frequency rank
- 17731
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | anhören | Anhörung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem (aufmerksam) zuhören; jemandem (vor allem vor Gericht) Gehör schenken | Befragung von Experten |
Where the eye mixes anhören and Anhörung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. anhören runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against Anhörung's 8 (VCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses anhören with Anhörung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: anhören is [ˈanˌhøːʁən] while Anhörung is [ˈanˌhøːʁʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17731, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
anhören is recorded at frequency rank #6,143, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌhøːʁən]. Anhörung is at rank #11,588, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌhøːʁʊŋ].
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 17731, this pair ranks #1,924,797 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of anhören vs Anhörung
Shared letters: ahnrö. Private to "anhören": e. Private to "Anhörung": gu.
"anhören" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "Anhörung" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "anhören" and "Anhörung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "anhören" or "Anhörung" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "anhören" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Anhörung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,924,797 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "anhören" and "Anhörung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anhören vs Azoren". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,924,797 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.