anfahren
[ˈanˌfaːʁən]
The verdict
“anfahren” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #26,744 in German word frequency and used as a verb.
- #26,744
- frequency rank, German
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 14
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - losfahren, ein Fahrzeug starten, zu fahren beginnen
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | anfahren |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [ˈanˌfaːʁən] |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #26,744 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 14 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “anfahren” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for anfahren is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈanˌfaːʁən]. Corpus data places it at rank #26,744 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for anfahren, with forms such as "afnahren", "anafhren", and "anfahern". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 14 confusable-pair relationships, "Anfahrt", "anfangen", "Anführer", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is anfahren, spelled A-N-F-A-H-R-E-N.
Definition
- 1losfahren, ein Fahrzeug starten, zu fahren beginnen
- 2heranfahren, näher kommen
- 3ein Ziel beim Fahren haben, einen Ort anzielen
- 4eine Ware mit einem Fahrzeug herbei karren
- 5zusammenstoßen, zusammenfahren, mit einem Fahrzeug kollidieren
- 6laut zurechtweisen
- 7eine Produktion starten, eine größere Maschinerie starten
- 8eine Lagerstätte erschließen
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: afnahren,anafhren,anfahern,anfahhren,anfahrenn,anfahrne,anfahrren,anfarhen,anffahren,anfharen,annfahren,nafahren
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of anfahren - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "anfahren"?
What does "anfahren" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "anfahren"?
How do you pronounce "anfahren"?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “anfahren”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is A-N-F-A-H-R-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈanˌfaːʁən] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Anfahrt” - see the side-by-side comparison. anfahren vs Anfahrt
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.