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 eye mixes anstehen and anstehende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. anstehen runs 8 letters (VCCCVCVC) against anstehende's 10 (VCCCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: anstehen vs anstehende
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
- anstehen ← annstehen · ansethen · ansstehen · ansteehn · anstehenn · anstehhen · anstehne · anstheen
- anstehende ← annstehende · ansethende · ansstehende · ansteehnde · anstehedne · anstehendde · anstehened · anstehennde
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "anstehen" and "anstehende" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "anstehen" vs "anstehende" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "anstehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "anstehende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,539,923 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "anstehen" and "anstehende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ansteckende vs anstehende". 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 #1,539,923 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.