anstiften

[ˈanˌʃtɪftn̩]

/[ˈanˌʃtɪftn̩]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“anstiften” is an uncommon German word, ranked #96,652 in German word frequency and used as a verb.

#96,652
frequency rank, German
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - jemanden zu etwas Bösem animieren

Key facts for anstiften
PropertyValue
Headwordanstiften
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈanˌʃtɪftn̩]
Letters9
Frequency rank#96,652
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “anstiften” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). anstiften lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for anstiften is 9 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈanˌʃtɪftn̩]. Corpus data places it at rank #96,652 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "jemanden zu etwas Bösem animieren".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for anstiften, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is anstiften, spelled A-N-S-T-I-F-T-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    jemanden zu etwas Bösem animieren

Synonyms

animierenanstachelnermuntern

Antonyms

zügeln

This word in other languages

instigate(English)tramer(Français)

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 "anstiften"?
"anstiften" is spelled A-N-S-T-I-F-T-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈanˌʃtɪftn̩].
What does "anstiften" mean?
As a verb, "anstiften" means: jemanden zu etwas Bösem animieren
How do you pronounce "anstiften"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "anstiften" is [ˈanˌʃtɪftn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "anstiften" come from?
"anstiften" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “anstiften”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is A-N-S-T-I-F-T-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈanˌʃtɪftn̩] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list