What’s the difference between “beginnen” and “anfangen”?

Wondering what’s the difference between “beginnen” and “anfangen” in German? Is there actually a difference or are these verbs interchangeable? 

Beginnen and anfangen both mean “to start/to begin”. They can be used interchangeably most of the time – the difference in meaning is very subtle. For example, some people perceive beginnen as a more formal verb compared to anfangen which is common in everyday language. The main difference between beginnen and anfangen has to do with grammar. Beginnen is a non-separable verb while anfangen has a separable prefix: Wir beginnen jetzt. Wir fangen jetzt an.

When I asked a couple of my German friends if they feel any difference between these two verbs, their answers confused me at first. Some do feel that beginnen is more common in formal situations, some said they mostly use anfangen in their everyday life, and others said there is absolutely no difference between them.

These are actually good news for German learners. If native German speakers don’t see any clear difference between beginnen and anfangen, then you don’t need to worry about using the wrong word. You can just pick the verb that you like more. 

Beginnen is a great verb for beginners 🙂 The conjugation is simpler compared to anfangen and you don’t need to worry about the separable prefix an. And if you are an English speaker – beginnen will definitely be easier to remember as it’s similar to English “to begin”.

With time, as you learn about separable prefixes in German, you can start using anfangen more. And as you hear and speak more German, you will develop a feeling which verb sounds better or fits better in different situations.

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Let’s look at some examples with the verbs beginnen and anfangen.

beginnen(begann – hat begonnen) – to start/begin

Präsens		Präteritum		Perfekt
ich beginne	I start	ich begann	I started	ich habe begonnen	I have started
du beginnst	you start	du begannst	you started	du hast begonnen	you have started
er/sie/es beginnt	he/she/it starts	er/sie/es begann	he/she/it started	er/sie/es hat begonnen	he/she/it has started
wir beginnen	we start	wir begannen	we started	wir haben begonnen	we have started
ihr beginnt	you start	ihr begannt	you started	ihr habt begonnen	you have started
sie/Sie beginnen	they/you start	sie/Sie begannen	they/you started	sie/Sie haben begonnen	they/you have started

Meine Vorlesung beginnt in zwanzig Minuten. – My lecture starts in twenty minutes.

Um wieviel Uhr beginnt der Super Bowl? – What time does the Super Bowl start?

Du hast das sehr gut erklärt, ich beginne zu verstehen. – You explained that very well, I am beginning to understand.

Er begann zu joggen, um abzunehmen. – He started jogging to lose weight.

Der Countdown hat begonnen. – The countdown has started.

beginnen and anfangen are often used with preposition mit: beginnen/anfangen mit + Dativ – to start with smth/get started with something:

Wann können Sie mit der Arbeit beginnen? – When can you start work?

Ich kann sofort mit der Arbeit beginnen. – I can start working right away.

Wann beginnst du wieder mit dem Training? – When do you start training again?

anfangen(fing an – hat angefangen) – to start/begin

Präsens		Präteritum		Perfekt
ich fange an	I start	ich fing an	I started	ich habe angefangen	I have started
du fängst an	you start	du fingst an	you started	du hast angefangen	you have started
er/sie/es fängt an	he/she/it starts	er/sie/es fing an	he/she/it started	er/sie/es hat angefangen	he/she/it has started
wir fangen an	we start	wir fingen an	we started	wir haben angefangen	we have started
ihr fangt an	you start	ihr fingt an	you started	ihr habt angefangen	you have started
sie/Sie fangen an	they/you start	sie/Sie fingen an	they/you started	sie/Sie haben angefangen	they/you have started

Pay attention to separable prefix an in the sentences:

Er fängt an, Deutsch zu lernen. – He starts to learn German.

Ich fange mit dem Joggen an. – I start jogging.

Ich will mit dem Joggen anfangen. – I want to start jogging.

Wie fange ich am besten mit Joggen an? – What’s the best way to start jogging?

Es fing an zu regnen. – It started raining.

Alle fingen an zu essen. – Everyone started to eat.

Ich habe mit dem Training angefangen. – I started training.

Wann hast du angefangen, Deutsch zu lernen? – When did you start learning German?

Finally here are some examples of the sentences with the same meaning but using different verbs beginnen or anfangen.

Wann fängt das Konzert an? Wann beginnt das Konzert? – When does the concert start?

Es beginnt zu schneien. Es fängt an zu schneien. – It starts to snow.

Die Vorstellung beginnt um 12 Uhr. Die Vorstellung fängt um 12 Uhr an. – The performance starts at 12.

Wann beginnst du mit der Arbeit? Wann fängst du mit der Arbeit an? – When do you start work?

Wir begannen, die Wohnung zu renovieren. Wir fingen an, die Wohnung zu renovieren. – We started renovating the apartment

Ich habe mit dem Kochen begonnen. Ich habe mit dem Kochen angefangen. – I started cooking.

Wir haben mit dem Training begonnen. Wir haben mit dem Training angefangen. – We started training. 

What about starten? 

starten  also means “to start/begin” but also “to launch/take off”.

 In some situations, starten is interchangeable with beginnen and anfangen.

Wann startet der Sommersemester? Wann beginnt der Sommersemester? Wann fängt der Sommersemester an? – When does the summer semester start?

Starten is usually used to talk about sports competitions, starting/launching a car/engine/computer/project.

Ich möchte einen Blog starten. – I want to start a blog.

Wie starte ich ein Zoom Meeting als Host? – How do I start a Zoom meeting as a host?

Kann man ein Auto ohne Schlüssel starten? – Can you start a car without a key?

Der Wettbewerb startet in fünf Minuten. – The competition starts in five minutes.

Das Flugzeug startete mit großer Verspätung vom Flughafen Frankfurt. – The plane took off from Frankfurt Airport with a long delay.

Du musst den Computer neu starten. – You need to restart your computer.

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