Which to use
“ärgern” is a verb and “Ärgernis” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,316
- “ärgern” frequency rank
- #30,408
- “Ärgernis” frequency rank
- 38724
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ärgern | Ärgernis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (jemanden) necken, Ärger verursachen | Vorkommnis, das ein negatives Gefühl wie einen kleinen Ärger, eine Verstimmung oder Irritation auslöst |
Where the eye mixes ärgern and Ärgernis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ärgern runs 6 letters (VCCVCC) against Ärgernis's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: ärgern vs Ärgernis
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ärgern is [ˈɛʁɡɐn] while Ärgernis is [ˈɛʁɡɐnɪs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “ärgern” sits inside “Ärgernis”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38724, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ärgern is recorded at frequency rank #8,316, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɛʁɡɐn]. Ärgernis is at rank #30,408, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛʁɡɐnɪs].
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 38724, this pair ranks #1,556,297 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ärgern vs Ärgernis
Shared letters: egnrä. Private to "ärgern": -. Private to "Ärgernis": is.
"ärgern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "Ärgernis" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ärgern" for "Ärgernis" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "ärgern" or "Ärgernis" show up more?
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 "ärgern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ärgernis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,556,297 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ärgern" and "Ärgernis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ärgern vs ärmere". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,556,297 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.