Which to use
“erfahre” and “erzähle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,792
- “erfahre” frequency rank
- #10,851
- “erzähle” frequency rank
- 25643
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfahre | erzähle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erfahren | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erzählen |
Where the eye mixes erfahre and erzähle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. erfahre and erzähle follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: erfahre vs erzähle
A purely visual mix-up. erfahre ([ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁə]) and erzähle ([ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːlə]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25643, 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]. erzähle is at rank #10,851, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɛːlə].
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 25643, this pair ranks #1,830,166 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erfahre vs erzähle
Shared letters: ehr. Private to "erfahre": af. Private to "erzähle": lzä.
"erfahre" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "erzähle" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- erfahre ← efrahre · erafhre · erfaher · erfahhre · erfahrre · erfarhe · erffahre · erfhare
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erfahre" for "erzähle" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "erfahre" or "erzähle" show up more?
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 "erzähle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,830,166 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfahre" and "erzähle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erzähle vs Erzählers". 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 #1,830,166 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.