erfahrevserfuhrTell them apart

Which to use

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

#14,792
“erfahre” frequency rank
#5,702
“erfuhr” frequency rank
20494
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erfahre erfuhr
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erfahren 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs erfahren

Where the eye mixes erfahre and erfuhr

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
erfahre
6 ch
erfuhr

Look-alike desk: erfahre vs erfuhr

A purely visual mix-up. erfahre ([ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁə]) and erfuhr ([ɛɐ̯ˈfuːɐ̯]) 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 20494, 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]. erfuhr is at rank #5,702, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfuːɐ̯].

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 20494, this pair ranks #1,897,046 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of erfahre vs erfuhr

Shared letters: efhr. Private to "erfahre": a. Private to "erfuhr": u.

"erfahre" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "erfuhr" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erfahreefrahre · erafhre · erfaher · erfahhre · erfahrre · erfarhe · erffahre · erfhare
  • erfuhrefruhr · erffuhr · erfhur · erfuhhr · erfuhrr · erfurh · errfuhr · erufhr

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "erfahre" and "erfuhr" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁə] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈfuːɐ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "erfahre" vs "erfuhr" - which ranks higher?
"erfuhr" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,702 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.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "erfahre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erfuhr" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,897,046 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erfahre" and "erfuhr" 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 #1,897,046 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