ärgernvsArsenTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#8,316
“ärgern” frequency rank
#29,002
“Arsen” frequency rank
37318
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ärgern Arsen
Definition (jemanden) necken, Ärger verursachen das 33. chemische Element im Periodensystem, ein Halbmetall

Where the eye mixes ärgern and Arsen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. ärgern runs 6 letters (VCCVCC) against Arsen's 5 (VCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
ärgern
5 ch
Arsen

Visual trap between ärgern and Arsen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ärgern is [ˈɛʁɡɐn] while Arsen is [aʁˈzeːn]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37318, 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]. Arsen is at rank #29,002, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aʁˈzeːn].

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 37318, this pair ranks #1,593,332 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ärgern vs Arsen

Shared letters: enr. Private to "ärgern": gä. Private to "Arsen": as.

"ärgern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "Arsen" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Arsen ← aresn · arrsen · arsenn · arsne · asren

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ärgern" and "Arsen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ärgern" is a verb and "Arsen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "ärgern" vs "Arsen" - which ranks higher?
"ärgern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,316 in our German list, against #29,002 for "Arsen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ärgern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Arsen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,593,332 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ärgern" and "Arsen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ärgsten vs Arsen". 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 #1,593,332 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