anstrengendvsanstrengendeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,037
“anstrengend” frequency rank
#29,924
“anstrengende” frequency rank
35961
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature anstrengend anstrengende
Definition Anstrengung erfordernd, mühsam Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs anstrengend

Where the eye mixes anstrengend and anstrengende

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. anstrengend runs 11 letters (VCCCCVCCVCC) against anstrengende's 12 (VCCCCVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
anstrengend
12 ch
anstrengende

Look-alike desk: anstrengend vs anstrengende

A purely visual mix-up. anstrengend ([ˈanˌʃtʁɛŋənt]) and anstrengende ([ˈanˌʃtʁɛŋəndə]) 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) - “anstrengend” sits inside “anstrengende”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35961, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

anstrengend is recorded at frequency rank #6,037, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈanˌʃtʁɛŋənt]. anstrengende is at rank #29,924, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈanˌʃtʁɛŋəndə].

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 35961, this pair ranks #1,627,346 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of anstrengend vs anstrengende

Shared letters: adegnrst. Private to "anstrengend": -. Private to "anstrengende": -.

"anstrengend" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVCC  ·  "anstrengende" · 12 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • anstrengend ← annstrengend · ansrtengend · ansstrengend · ansterngend · anstregnend · anstrenegnd · anstrengedn · anstrengendd
  • anstrengende ← annstrengende · ansrtengende · ansstrengende · ansterngende · anstregnende · anstrenegnde · anstrengedne · anstrengendde

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "anstrengend" for "anstrengende" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanˌʃtʁɛŋənt] versus [ˈanˌʃtʁɛŋəndə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "anstrengend" vs "anstrengende" - which ranks higher?
"anstrengend" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,037 in our German list, against #29,924 for "anstrengende". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "anstrengend" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "anstrengende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,627,346 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "anstrengend" and "anstrengende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ansteigende vs anstrengende". 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 #1,627,346 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