Which to use
“anstrengen” is a verb and “Anstrengung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,819
- “anstrengen” frequency rank
- #13,763
- “Anstrengung” frequency rank
- 33582
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | anstrengen | Anstrengung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich mit (großem) Kraftaufwand, (großer) Mühe, Fleiß, Ausdauer und so weiter für eine Leistung oder Leistungssteigerung einsetzen | ein (großer) Kraftaufwand, Mühe, Fleiß, Ausdauer, um etwas zu erreichen oder zu überwinden |
Where the eye mixes anstrengen and Anstrengung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. anstrengen runs 10 letters (VCCCCVCCVC) against Anstrengung's 11 (VCCCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses anstrengen with Anstrengung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: anstrengen is [ˈanˌʃtʁɛŋən] while Anstrengung is [ˈanˌʃtʁɛŋʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33582, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
anstrengen is recorded at frequency rank #19,819, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌʃtʁɛŋən]. Anstrengung is at rank #13,763, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌʃtʁɛŋʊŋ].
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 33582, this pair ranks #1,682,716 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of anstrengen vs Anstrengung
Shared letters: aegnrst. Private to "anstrengen": -. Private to "Anstrengung": u.
"anstrengen" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC · "Anstrengung" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- anstrengen ← annstrengen · ansrtengen · ansstrengen · ansterngen · anstregnen · anstrenegn · anstrengenn · anstrenggen
- Anstrengung ← annstrengung · ansrtengung · ansstrengung · ansterngung · anstregnung · anstrenggung · anstrengnug · anstrengugn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "anstrengen" and "Anstrengung" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "anstrengen" or "Anstrengung"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "anstrengen" and "Anstrengung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "anstrengen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Anstrengung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,682,716 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "anstrengen" and "Anstrengung" 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 #1,682,716 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.