From Middle High German *anevāhen*, a compound of *an-* ("at, on") + *fangen* ("to catch, seize"), itself from Old High German *fāhan*. The shift from the concrete idea of "seizing upon" something to the abstract sense of "beginning" parallels similar developments in English *undertake* and Latin *incipere* ("to take hold of").

*Anfangen* and its close cousin *beginnen* are largely interchangeable, but *anfangen* is distinctly more colloquial and preferred in everyday spoken German. *Beginnen* sounds slightly more formal or written. In separable-verb constructions, the prefix *an-* splits off and lands at the end of the clause: *Ich fange jetzt an* ("I'm starting now") — a feature that regularly trips up learners accustomed to English word order.