AnrufvsAnusConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#4,180
“Anruf” frequency rank
#26,301
“Anus” frequency rank
30481
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Anruf Anus
Definition das Kontaktieren (beziehungsweise auch der Versuch dessen) per Telefon Austrittsöffnung des Darmes

Where the eye mixes Anruf and Anus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Anruf
4 ch
Anus

Visual trap between Anruf and Anus

A purely visual mix-up. Anruf ([ˈanˌʁuːf]) and Anus ([ˈaːnʊs]) 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 30481, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Anruf is recorded at frequency rank #4,180, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌʁuːf]. Anus is at rank #26,301, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaːnʊs].

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 30481, this pair ranks #1,746,998 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Anruf vs Anus

Shared letters: anu. Private to "Anruf": fr. Private to "Anus": s.

"Anruf" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "Anus" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Anrufannruf · anrfu · anrruf · anruff · anurf · arnuf · naruf
  • Anusannus · ansu · anuss · auns · naus

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Anruf" for "Anus" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanˌʁuːf] versus [ˈaːnʊs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Anruf" vs "Anus" - which ranks higher?
"Anruf" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,180 in our German list, against #26,301 for "Anus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Anruf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Anus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,746,998 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Anruf" and "Anus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Anus vs AUD". 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 #1,746,998 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