erfahrevserfährtConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#14,792
“erfahre” frequency rank
#4,116
“erfährt” frequency rank
18908
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erfahre erfährt
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erfahren 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erfahren

Where the eye mixes erfahre and erfährt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erfahre (VCCVCCV) and erfährt (VCCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
erfahre
7 ch
erfährt

Why the eye confuses erfahre with erfährt

A purely visual mix-up. erfahre ([ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁə]) and erfährt ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɛːɐ̯t]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18908, 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]. erfährt is at rank #4,116, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɛːɐ̯t].

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 18908, this pair ranks #1,913,655 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erfahre vs erfährt

Shared letters: efhr. Private to "erfahre": a. Private to "erfährt": tä.

"erfahre" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "erfährt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erfahre ← efrahre · erafhre · erfaher · erfahhre · erfahrre · erfarhe · erffahre · erfhare

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erfahre" and "erfährt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁə] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈfɛːɐ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "erfahre" or "erfährt" show up more?
"erfährt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,116 in our German list, against #14,792 for "erfahre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erfahre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erfährt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,913,655 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erfahre" and "erfährt" 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 #1,913,655 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