einführenvserfuhrenConfusable pair

Which to use

“einführen” and “erfuhren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#8,701
“einführen” frequency rank
#15,343
“erfuhren” frequency rank
24044
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einführen erfuhren
Definition eine Ware über eine Grenze in ein Land/Gebiet bringen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs erfahren

Where the eye mixes einführen and erfuhren

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. einführen runs 9 letters (VVCCVCCVC) against erfuhren's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
einführen
8 ch
erfuhren

Why the eye confuses einführen with erfuhren

A purely visual mix-up. einführen ([ˈaɪ̯nˌfyːʁən]) and erfuhren ([ɛɐ̯ˈfuːʁən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24044, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einführen is recorded at frequency rank #8,701, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌfyːʁən]. erfuhren is at rank #15,343, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfuːʁən].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 24044, this pair ranks #1,853,109 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of einführen vs erfuhren

Shared letters: efhnr. Private to "einführen": . Private to "erfuhren": u.

"einführen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC  ·  "erfuhren" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erfuhrenefruhren · erffuhren · erfhuren · erfuhern · erfuhhren · erfuhrenn · erfuhrne · erfuhrren

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "einführen" and "erfuhren" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nˌfyːʁən] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈfuːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "einführen" or "erfuhren"?
"einführen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,701 in our German list, against #15,343 for "erfuhren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "einführen" and "erfuhren" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "einführen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erfuhren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,853,109 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "einführen" and "erfuhren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erfroren vs erfuhren". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,853,109 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list