anhörenvsAnhörungWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: anhören is a verb, Anhörung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set anhören and Anhörung apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
anhören
8 ch
Anhörung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

anhören#6,143
Anhörung#11,588

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "anhören" and "Anhörung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "anhören" is a verb and "Anhörung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "anhören" or "Anhörung"?
"anhören" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,143 in our German list, against #11,588 for "Anhörung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering anhören vs Anhörung

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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