anlegenvsanlegtWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#5,453
“anlegen” frequency rank
#25,886
“anlegt” frequency rank
31339
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature anlegen anlegt
Definition etwas erschaffen oder erstellen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs anlegen

Where the eye mixes anlegen and anlegt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. anlegen runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against anlegt's 6 (VCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
anlegen
6 ch
anlegt

Visual trap between anlegen and anlegt

A purely visual mix-up. anlegen ([ˈanˌleːɡn̩]) and anlegt ([ˈanˌleːkt]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31339, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

anlegen is recorded at frequency rank #5,453, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌleːɡn̩]. anlegt is at rank #25,886, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌleːkt].

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 31339, this pair ranks #1,730,091 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of anlegen vs anlegt

Shared letters: aegln. Private to "anlegen": -. Private to "anlegt": t.

"anlegen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "anlegt" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • anlegen ← alnegen · anelgen · anleegn · anlegenn · anleggen · anlegne · anlgeen · anllegen
  • anlegt ← alnegt · anelgt · anleggt · anlegtt · anletg · anlget · anllegt · annlegt

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "anlegen" and "anlegt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanˌleːɡn̩] versus [ˈanˌleːkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "anlegen" vs "anlegt" - which ranks higher?
"anlegen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,453 in our German list, against #25,886 for "anlegt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "anlegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "anlegt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,730,091 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "anlegen" and "anlegt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ablegt vs anlegt". 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 #1,730,091 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