Which to use
“Anker” and “Ärger” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,001
- “Anker” frequency rank
- #3,498
- “Ärger” frequency rank
- 14499
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Anker | Ärger |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Eisenhaken an einer langen Kette zum Festlegen schwimmender Fahrzeuge am Fluss- oder Meeresboden | spontane, innere, emotionale Reaktion hochgradiger Unzufriedenheit auf eine Situation, eine Person oder eine Erinnerung, die der Verärgerte lieber anders gesehen hätte |
Where the eye mixes Anker and Ärger
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Anker and Ärger
A purely visual mix-up. Anker ([ˈaŋkɐ]) and Ärger ([ˈɛʁɡɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14499, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Anker is recorded at frequency rank #11,001, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaŋkɐ]. Ärger is at rank #3,498, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛʁɡɐ].
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 14499, this pair ranks #1,950,784 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Anker vs Ärger
Shared letters: er. Private to "Anker": akn. Private to "Ärger": gä.
"Anker" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "Ärger" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Anker ← akner · anekr · ankerr · ankker · ankre · annker · naker
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Anker" for "Ärger" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Anker" or "Ärger"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Anker" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ärger" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,950,784 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Anker" and "Ärger" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Anker vs answer". 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 #1,950,784 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.