anzeigenvsAnzeigerTell them apart

Quick tell: anzeigen is a verb, Anzeiger is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“anzeigen” is a verb and “Anzeiger” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,793
“anzeigen” frequency rank
#10,414
“Anzeiger” frequency rank
14207
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature anzeigen Anzeiger
Definition der Polizei oder Staatsanwaltschaft eine von jemandem verübte Straftat mitteilen Vorrichtung, die etwas anzeigt

Where the eye mixes anzeigen and Anzeiger

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. anzeigen and Anzeiger follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
anzeigen
8 ch
Anzeiger

Visual trap between anzeigen and Anzeiger

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: anzeigen is [ˈanˌt͡saɪ̯ɡn̩] while Anzeiger is [ˈanˌt͡saɪ̯ɡɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “anzeigen” becomes r in “Anzeiger”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14207, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

anzeigen is recorded at frequency rank #3,793, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌt͡saɪ̯ɡn̩]. Anzeiger is at rank #10,414, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌt͡saɪ̯ɡɐ].

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 14207, this pair ranks #1,952,836 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of anzeigen vs Anzeiger

Shared letters: aeginz. Private to "anzeigen": -. Private to "Anzeiger": r.

"anzeigen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC  ·  "Anzeiger" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • anzeigen ← anezigen · annzeigen · anzegien · anzeiegn · anzeigenn · anzeiggen · anzeigne · anziegen
  • Anzeiger ← aneziger · annzeiger · anzegier · anzeiegr · anzeigerr · anzeigger · anzeigre · anzieger

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "anzeigen" for "Anzeiger" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "anzeigen" is a verb and "Anzeiger" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "anzeigen" or "Anzeiger"?
"anzeigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,793 in our German list, against #10,414 for "Anzeiger". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "anzeigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Anzeiger" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,952,836 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "anzeigen" and "Anzeiger" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anheizen vs anzeigen". 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 #1,952,836 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