ankündigenvsankündigteConfusable pair

Which to use

“ankündigen” and “ankündigte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#22,617
“ankündigen” frequency rank
#39,204
“ankündigte” frequency rank
61821
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ankündigen ankündigte
Definition darüber informieren, was sein wird 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs ankündigen

Where the eye mixes ankündigen and ankündigte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. ankündigen (VCCVCCVCVC) and ankündigte (VCCVCCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

10 ch
ankündigen
10 ch
ankündigte

Visual trap between ankündigen and ankündigte

A purely visual mix-up. ankündigen ([ˈanˌkʏndɪɡn̩]) and ankündigte ([ˈanˌkʏndɪçtə]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61821, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ankündigen is recorded at frequency rank #22,617, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌkʏndɪɡn̩]. ankündigte is at rank #39,204, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌkʏndɪçtə].

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 61821, this pair ranks #735,390 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ankündigen vs ankündigte

Shared letters: adegiknü. Private to "ankündigen": -. Private to "ankündigte": t.

"ankündigen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC  ·  "ankündigte" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ankündigen" and "ankündigte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanˌkʏndɪɡn̩] versus [ˈanˌkʏndɪçtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ankündigen" or "ankündigte"?
"ankündigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,617 in our German list, against #39,204 for "ankündigte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "ankündigen" and "ankündigte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ankündigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ankündigte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #735,390 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ankündigen" and "ankündigte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ankündigt vs ankündigte". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #735,390 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list