anstehen
[ˈanˌʃteːən]
The verdict
“anstehen” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #17,802 in German word frequency and used as a verb.
- #17,802
- frequency rank, German
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 17
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - sich an das Ende einer Schlange stellen und warten, um an die Reihe zu kommen
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 | anstehen |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [ˈanˌʃteːən] |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #17,802 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 17 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “anstehen” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for anstehen is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈanˌʃteːən]. Corpus data places it at rank #17,802 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 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 anstehen, with forms such as "annstehen", "ansethen", and "ansstehen". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 17 confusable-pair relationships, "ansteht", "aussehen", "ausgehen", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is anstehen, spelled A-N-S-T-E-H-E-N.
Definition
- 1sich an das Ende einer Schlange stellen und warten, um an die Reihe zu kommen
- 2aktuell sein, getan werden müssen
- 3zu Gesicht stehen, einen bestimmten Eindruck machen
- 4festgelegt, angesetzt sein
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: annstehen,ansethen,ansstehen,ansteehn,anstehenn,anstehhen,anstehne,anstheen,ansttehen,antsehen,asntehen,nastehen
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of anstehen - 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 "anstehen"?
What does "anstehen" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "anstehen"?
How do you pronounce "anstehen"?
What language does "anstehen" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “anstehen”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is A-N-S-T-E-H-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈanˌʃteːən] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “ansteht” - see the side-by-side comparison. anstehen vs ansteht
- 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.