ankündigenvsanzukündigenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#22,617
“ankündigen” frequency rank
#41,649
“anzukündigen” frequency rank
64266
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ankündigen anzukündigen
Definition darüber informieren, was sein wird erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs ankündigen

Where the eye mixes ankündigen and anzukündigen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. ankündigen runs 10 letters (VCCVCCVCVC) against anzukündigen's 12 (VCCVCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
ankündigen
12 ch
anzukündigen

Why the eye confuses ankündigen with anzukündigen

A purely visual mix-up. ankündigen ([ˈanˌkʏndɪɡn̩]) and anzukündigen ([ˈant͡suˌkʏndɪɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64266, 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]. anzukündigen is at rank #41,649, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈant͡suˌkʏndɪɡn̩].

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 64266, this pair ranks #647,686 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ankündigen vs anzukündigen

Shared letters: adegiknü. Private to "ankündigen": -. Private to "anzukündigen": uz.

"ankündigen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC  ·  "anzukündigen" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ankündigen" and "anzukündigen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanˌkʏndɪɡn̩] versus [ˈant͡suˌkʏndɪɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ankündigen" vs "anzukündigen" - which ranks higher?
"ankündigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,617 in our German list, against #41,649 for "anzukündigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "ankündigen" and "anzukündigen" 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 "anzukündigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #647,686 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ankündigen" and "anzukündigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ankündigen vs ankündigte". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #647,686 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