Which to use
“ansteigen” and “anstrengen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,504
- “ansteigen” frequency rank
- #19,819
- “anstrengen” frequency rank
- 37323
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ansteigen | anstrengen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | an Höhe gewinnen, nach oben verlaufen | sich mit (großem) Kraftaufwand, (großer) Mühe, Fleiß, Ausdauer und so weiter für eine Leistung oder Leistungssteigerung einsetzen |
Where the eye mixes ansteigen and anstrengen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ansteigen with anstrengen
A purely visual mix-up. ansteigen ([ˈanˌʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩]) and anstrengen ([ˈanˌʃtʁɛŋən]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37323, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ansteigen is recorded at frequency rank #17,504, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩]. anstrengen is at rank #19,819, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌʃtʁɛŋən].
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 37323, this pair ranks #1,593,194 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ansteigen vs anstrengen
Shared letters: aegnst. Private to "ansteigen": i. Private to "anstrengen": r.
"ansteigen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC · "anstrengen" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ansteigen ← annsteigen · ansetigen · anssteigen · anstegien · ansteiegn · ansteigenn · ansteiggen · ansteigne
- anstrengen ← annstrengen · ansrtengen · ansstrengen · ansterngen · anstregnen · anstrenegn · anstrengenn · anstrenggen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ansteigen" for "anstrengen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ansteigen" or "anstrengen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ansteigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "anstrengen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,593,194 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ansteigen" and "anstrengen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anspringen vs anstrengen". 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 #1,593,194 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.