Which to use
“anrufen” and “anrühren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,017
- “anrufen” frequency rank
- #49,463
- “anrühren” frequency rank
- 53480
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | anrufen | anrühren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | auf sich aufmerksam machen, indem man ruft; jemanden namentlich rufen | jemand oder etwas anfassen, berühren |
Where the eye mixes anrufen and anrühren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. anrufen runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against anrühren's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: anrufen vs anrühren
A purely visual mix-up. anrufen ([ˈanˌʁuːfn̩]) and anrühren ([ˈanˌʁyːʁən]) 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 53480, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
anrufen is recorded at frequency rank #4,017, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌʁuːfn̩]. anrühren is at rank #49,463, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌʁyːʁən].
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 53480, this pair ranks #1,056,369 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of anrufen vs anrühren
Shared letters: aenr. Private to "anrufen": fu. Private to "anrühren": hü.
"anrufen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "anrühren" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- anrufen ← annrufen · anrfuen · anrrufen · anruefn · anrufenn · anruffen · anrufne · anurfen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "anrufen" and "anrühren" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "anrufen" or "anrühren"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "anrufen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "anrühren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,056,369 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "anrufen" and "anrühren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anfahren vs anrühren". 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 #1,056,369 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.