anstehenvsanstehendeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#17,802
“anstehen” frequency rank
#21,522
“anstehende” frequency rank
39324
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature anstehen anstehende
Definition sich an das Ende einer Schlange stellen und warten, um an die Reihe zu kommen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs anstehend

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set anstehen and anstehende apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
anstehen
10 ch
anstehende

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: anstehen is [ˈanˌʃteːən] while anstehende is [ˈanˌʃteːəndə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “anstehen” sits inside “anstehende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39324, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

anstehen is recorded at frequency rank #17,802, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌʃteːən]. anstehende is at rank #21,522, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈanˌʃteːəndə].

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 39324, this pair ranks #1,539,923 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of anstehen vs anstehende

Shared letters: aehnst. Private to "anstehen": -. Private to "anstehende": d.

"anstehen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC  ·  "anstehende" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • anstehenannstehen · ansethen · ansstehen · ansteehn · anstehenn · anstehhen · anstehne · anstheen
  • anstehendeannstehende · ansethende · ansstehende · ansteehnde · anstehedne · anstehendde · anstehened · anstehennde

Frequency comparison

anstehen#17,802
anstehende#21,522

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "anstehen" and "anstehende" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "anstehen" is a verb and "anstehende" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "anstehen" or "anstehende"?
"anstehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,802 in our German list, against #21,522 for "anstehende". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering anstehen vs anstehende

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “anstehen”; for an adjective, it's “anstehende”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “anstehen” 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