Which to use
“Anker” and “Äther” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,001
- “Anker” frequency rank
- #33,933
- “Äther” frequency rank
- 44934
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Anker | Äther |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Eisenhaken an einer langen Kette zum Festlegen schwimmender Fahrzeuge am Fluss- oder Meeresboden | verschiedene organische Verbindungen mit einer Sauerstoffbrücke als funktionelle Gruppe |
Where the eye mixes Anker and Äther
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Anker with Äther
A purely visual mix-up. Anker ([ˈaŋkɐ]) and Äther ([ˈɛːtɐ]) 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 44934, 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]. Äther is at rank #33,933, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛːtɐ].
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 44934, this pair ranks #1,369,887 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Anker vs Äther
Shared letters: er. Private to "Anker": akn. Private to "Äther": htä.
"Anker" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "Äther" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Anker ← akner · anekr · ankerr · ankker · ankre · annker · naker
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Anker" for "Äther" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Anker" or "Äther"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Anker" and "Äther" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Anker" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Äther" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,369,887 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Anker" and "Äther" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Äther vs Atze". 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 #1,369,887 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.