Which to use
“anrief” is a verb and “Anruf” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,024
- “anrief” frequency rank
- #4,180
- “Anruf” frequency rank
- 45204
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | anrief | Anruf |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs anrufen | das Kontaktieren (beziehungsweise auch der Versuch dessen) per Telefon |
Where the eye mixes anrief and Anruf
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between anrief and Anruf
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: anrief is [ˈanˌʁiːf] while Anruf is [ˈanˌʁuːf]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45204, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
anrief is recorded at frequency rank #41,024, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌʁiːf]. Anruf is at rank #4,180, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌʁuːf].
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 45204, this pair ranks #1,360,950 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of anrief vs Anruf
Shared letters: afnr. Private to "anrief": ei. Private to "Anruf": u.
"anrief" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC · "Anruf" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "anrief" for "Anruf" ever safe?
Frequency check: "anrief" vs "Anruf" - which ranks higher?
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 "anrief" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Anruf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,360,950 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "anrief" and "Anruf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ablief vs anrief". 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 #1,360,950 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.