anschaffenvsAnschaffungWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: anschaffen is a verb, Anschaffung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“anschaffen” is a verb and “Anschaffung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,498
“anschaffen” frequency rank
#11,590
“Anschaffung” frequency rank
32088
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature anschaffen Anschaffung
Definition etwas für sich erwerben Erwerb von etwas

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set anschaffen and Anschaffung apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
anschaffen
11 ch
Anschaffung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: anschaffen is [ˈanˌʃafn̩] while Anschaffung is [ˈanʃafʊŋ]. 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 32088, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

anschaffen is recorded at frequency rank #20,498, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌʃafn̩]. Anschaffung is at rank #11,590, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanʃafʊŋ].

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 32088, this pair ranks #1,714,956 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of anschaffen vs Anschaffung

Shared letters: acfhns. Private to "anschaffen": e. Private to "Anschaffung": gu.

"anschaffen" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC  ·  "Anschaffung" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • anschaffenancshaffen · annschaffen · anscahffen · anscchaffen · anschafefn · anschafen · anschaffenn · anschaffne
  • Anschaffungancshaffung · annschaffung · anscahffung · anscchaffung · anschaffnug · anschaffugn · anschaffungg · anschaffunng

Frequency comparison

anschaffen#20,498
Anschaffung#11,590

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "anschaffen" and "Anschaffung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "anschaffen" is a verb and "Anschaffung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "anschaffen" or "Anschaffung"?
"Anschaffung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,590 in our German list, against #20,498 for "anschaffen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering anschaffen vs Anschaffung

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “anschaffen”; for a noun, it's “Anschaffung”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “anschaffen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list