ansteckendvsansteckendeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,827
“ansteckend” frequency rank
#48,705
“ansteckende” frequency rank
69532
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ansteckend ansteckende
Definition eine Krankheit verursacht durch Krankheitserreger (Viren, Bakterien, Pilze), die von einem Menschen auf den nächsten übertragen werden kann Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs ansteckend

Where the eye mixes ansteckend and ansteckende

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. ansteckend runs 10 letters (VCCCVCCVCC) against ansteckende's 11 (VCCCVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
ansteckend
11 ch
ansteckende

Visual trap between ansteckend and ansteckende

A purely visual mix-up. ansteckend ([ˈanˌʃtɛkn̩t]) and ansteckende ([ˈanˌʃtɛkn̩də]) 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 extra letter(s) - “ansteckend” sits inside “ansteckende”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69532, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ansteckend is recorded at frequency rank #20,827, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈanˌʃtɛkn̩t]. ansteckende is at rank #48,705, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈanˌʃtɛkn̩də].

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 69532, this pair ranks #473,706 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ansteckend vs ansteckende

Shared letters: acdeknst. Private to "ansteckend": -. Private to "ansteckende": -.

"ansteckend" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCC  ·  "ansteckende" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ansteckend ← annsteckend · ansetckend · anssteckend · anstcekend · anstecckend · ansteceknd · ansteckedn · ansteckendd
  • ansteckende ← annsteckende · ansetckende · anssteckende · anstcekende · anstecckende · ansteceknde · ansteckedne · ansteckendde

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ansteckend" for "ansteckende" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanˌʃtɛkn̩t] versus [ˈanˌʃtɛkn̩də]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ansteckend" vs "ansteckende" - which ranks higher?
"ansteckend" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,827 in our German list, against #48,705 for "ansteckende". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ansteckend" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ansteckende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #473,706 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ansteckend" and "ansteckende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ansteckende vs ansteigende". 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 #473,706 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