AnwendungvsAnwendungenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,015
“Anwendung” frequency rank
#6,627
“Anwendungen” frequency rank
8642
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Anwendung Anwendungen
Definition das Verwenden, Benutzen einer Sache zu einem gewissen Zweck Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Anwendung

Where the eye mixes Anwendung and Anwendungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Anwendung runs 9 letters (VCCVCCVCC) against Anwendungen's 11 (VCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
Anwendung
11 ch
Anwendungen

Why the eye confuses Anwendung with Anwendungen

A purely visual mix-up. Anwendung ([ˈanvɛndʊŋ]) and Anwendungen ([ˈanvɛndʊŋən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Anwendung” sits inside “Anwendungen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8642, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Anwendung is recorded at frequency rank #2,015, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈanvɛndʊŋ]. Anwendungen is at rank #6,627, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanvɛndʊŋən].

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 8642, this pair ranks #1,983,468 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Anwendung vs Anwendungen

Shared letters: adegnuw. Private to "Anwendung": -. Private to "Anwendungen": -.

"Anwendung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC  ·  "Anwendungen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Anwendung ← anewndung · annwendung · anwednung · anwenddung · anwendnug · anwendugn · anwendungg · anwendunng
  • Anwendungen ← anewndungen · annwendungen · anwednungen · anwenddungen · anwendnugen · anwendugnen · anwendunegn · anwendungenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Anwendung" for "Anwendungen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanvɛndʊŋ] versus [ˈanvɛndʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Anwendung" vs "Anwendungen" - which ranks higher?
"Anwendung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,015 in our German list, against #6,627 for "Anwendungen". 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 "Anwendung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Anwendungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,983,468 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Anwendung" and "Anwendungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abwendung vs Anwendung". 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 #1,983,468 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