anklagenvsAnklägerWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

“anklagen” is a verb and “Ankläger” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,159
“anklagen” frequency rank
#31,424
“Ankläger” frequency rank
52583
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature anklagen Ankläger
Definition jemanden beschuldigen, unzulänglich zu sein oder etwas Schlechtes getan zu haben Person, die im Gericht die Anklage vertritt

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
anklagen
8 ch
Ankläger

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: anklagen is [ˈanˌklaːɡn̩] while Ankläger is [ˈanˌklɛːɡɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52583, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

anklagen is recorded at frequency rank #21,159, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌklaːɡn̩]. Ankläger is at rank #31,424, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌklɛːɡɐ].

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 52583, this pair ranks #1,091,167 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of anklagen vs Ankläger

Shared letters: aegkln. Private to "anklagen": -. Private to "Ankläger": .

"anklagen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC  ·  "Ankläger" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • anklagenaknlagen · ankalgen · ankklagen · anklaegn · anklagenn · anklaggen · anklagne · anklgaen

Frequency comparison

anklagen#21,159
Ankläger#31,424

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "anklagen" and "Ankläger" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "anklagen" is a verb and "Ankläger" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "anklagen" or "Ankläger"?
"anklagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,159 in our German list, against #31,424 for "Ankläger". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering anklagen vs Ankläger

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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