Which to use
“ärgern” is a verb and “ärmeren” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,316
- “ärgern” frequency rank
- #27,149
- “ärmeren” frequency rank
- 35465
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ärgern | ärmeren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (jemanden) necken, Ärger verursachen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs arm |
Where the eye mixes ärgern and ärmeren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. ärgern runs 6 letters (VCCVCC) against ärmeren's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between ärgern and ärmeren
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ärgern is [ˈɛʁɡɐn] while ärmeren is [ˈɛʁməʁən]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35465, 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]. ärmeren is at rank #27,149, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛʁməʁən].
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 35465, this pair ranks #1,639,337 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ärgern vs ärmeren
Shared letters: enrä. Private to "ärgern": g. Private to "ärmeren": m.
"ärgern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "ärmeren" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ärgern" for "ärmeren" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "ärgern" or "ärmeren" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "ärgern" and "ärmeren" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ärgern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ärmeren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,639,337 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ärgern" and "ärmeren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ärmere vs ärmeren". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,639,337 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.