Which to use
“erfahre” and “erfahren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,792
- “erfahre” frequency rank
- #1,074
- “erfahren” frequency rank
- 15866
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfahre | erfahren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erfahren | durch eigenes Erleben kennen lernen |
Where the eye mixes erfahre and erfahren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erfahre runs 7 letters (VCCVCCV) against erfahren's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erfahre with erfahren
A purely visual mix-up. erfahre ([ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁə]) and erfahren ([ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁən]) 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 extra letter(s) - “erfahre” sits inside “erfahren”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15866, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erfahre is recorded at frequency rank #14,792, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁə]. erfahren is at rank #1,074, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁən].
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 15866, this pair ranks #1,940,516 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erfahre vs erfahren
Shared letters: aefhr. Private to "erfahre": -. Private to "erfahren": n.
"erfahre" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "erfahren" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erfahre" for "erfahren" ever safe?
Which is more common, "erfahre" or "erfahren"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erfahre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erfahren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,940,516 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfahre" and "erfahren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erfahre vs ernähre". 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 #1,940,516 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.