ansprechenvsansprechendWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ansprechen is a verb, ansprechend is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ansprechen” is a verb and “ansprechend” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,891
“ansprechen” frequency rank
#24,238
“ansprechend” frequency rank
31129
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ansprechen ansprechend
Definition anfangen mit jemandem zu sprechen; mit jemandem ein Gespräch beginnen gefallend, einen guten Eindruck machend, meist vom Äußeren (der Form, Farbe, Figur, Kleidung, …), aber auch figurativer Gebrauch (beispielsweise in Bezug auf Charakter, Wesen)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ansprechen and ansprechend apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
ansprechen
11 ch
ansprechend

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ansprechen is [ˈanˌʃpʁɛçn̩] while ansprechend is [ˈanˌʃpʁɛçn̩t]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “ansprechen” sits inside “ansprechend”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31129, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ansprechen is recorded at frequency rank #6,891, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌʃpʁɛçn̩]. ansprechend is at rank #24,238, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈanˌʃpʁɛçn̩t].

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 31129, this pair ranks #1,734,224 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ansprechen vs ansprechend

Shared letters: acehnprs. Private to "ansprechen": -. Private to "ansprechend": d.

"ansprechen" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC  ·  "ansprechend" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ansprechenannsprechen · anpsrechen · ansperchen · anspprechen · ansprcehen · ansprecchen · ansprecehn · ansprechenn
  • ansprechendannsprechend · anpsrechend · ansperchend · anspprechend · ansprcehend · ansprecchend · ansprecehnd · ansprechedn

Frequency comparison

ansprechen#6,891
ansprechend#24,238

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ansprechen" and "ansprechend" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ansprechen" is a verb and "ansprechend" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ansprechen" or "ansprechend"?
"ansprechen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,891 in our German list, against #24,238 for "ansprechend". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ansprechen vs ansprechend

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “ansprechen”; for an adjective, it's “ansprechend”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ansprechen” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list