Which to use
“anstecken” is a verb and “ansteckend” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,882
- “anstecken” frequency rank
- #20,827
- “ansteckend” frequency rank
- 42709
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | anstecken | ansteckend |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas mit einer Nadel oder dergleichen befestigen; auf/an etwas stecken | eine Krankheit verursacht durch Krankheitserreger (Viren, Bakterien, Pilze), die von einem Menschen auf den nächsten übertragen werden kann |
Where the eye mixes anstecken and ansteckend
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. anstecken runs 9 letters (VCCCVCCVC) against ansteckend's 10 (VCCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: anstecken vs ansteckend
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: anstecken is [ˈanˌʃtɛkn̩] while ansteckend is [ˈanˌʃtɛkn̩t]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “anstecken” sits inside “ansteckend”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42709, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
anstecken is recorded at frequency rank #21,882, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌʃtɛkn̩]. ansteckend is at rank #20,827, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈanˌʃtɛkn̩t].
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 42709, this pair ranks #1,441,006 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of anstecken vs ansteckend
Shared letters: aceknst. Private to "anstecken": -. Private to "ansteckend": d.
"anstecken" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "ansteckend" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- anstecken ← annstecken · ansetcken · ansstecken · anstceken · ansteccken · anstecekn · ansteckenn · ansteckken
- ansteckend ← annsteckend · ansetckend · anssteckend · anstcekend · anstecckend · ansteceknd · ansteckedn · ansteckendd
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "anstecken" for "ansteckend" ever safe?
Which is more common, "anstecken" or "ansteckend"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "anstecken" and "ansteckend" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "anstecken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ansteckend" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,441,006 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "anstecken" and "ansteckend" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anstecken vs ansteckende". 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 #1,441,006 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.