anfangen

/[ˈanˌfaŋən]/ verb

Letters

8 characters

Frequency Rank

#1,837

in German word usage

Misspellings

12

tracked variants

Confusables

20

similar word pairs

anfangen is aGermanverb. It means: etwas anfangen:etwas beginnen Pronounced [ˈanˌfaŋən]. It ranks #1,837 in German word frequency. Often confused with anfangs and Anlagen.

Key facts for anfangen
PropertyValue
Headwordanfangen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈanˌfaŋən]
Letters8
Frequency rank#1,837
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of anfangen in German word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for anfangen is 8 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈanˌfaŋən]. Corpus data places it at rank #1,837 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 12 documented wrong-spelling variants for anfangen, with forms such as "afnangen", "anafngen", and "anfagnen". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "anfangs", "Anlagen", "anfängt", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is anfangen, spelled A-N-F-A-N-G-E-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    etwas anfangen:etwas beginnen
  2. 2
    beginnen, seinen Ausgangszeitpunkt haben
  3. 3
    beginnen, seinen Ausgangspunkt haben

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: afnangen,anafngen,anfagnen,anfanegn,anfangenn,anfanggen,anfangne,anfanngen,anffangen,anfnagen,annfangen,nafangen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for anfangen

Misspelling Variants of "anfangen"

afnangen8anafngen8anfagnen8anfanegn8anfangenn9anfanggen9anfangne8anfanngen9
Misspelling Variants of "anfangen"

Frequency rank: #1,837 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "anfangen"?
"anfangen" is spelled A-N-F-A-N-G-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈanˌfaŋən].
What does "anfangen" mean?
As a verb, "anfangen" means: etwas anfangen:etwas beginnen
What words are commonly confused with "anfangen"?
"anfangen" is commonly confused with "anfangs", "Anlagen", "anfängt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "anfangen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "anfangen" is [ˈanˌfaŋən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "anfangen" come from?
"anfangen" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter A in our German index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.