Which to use
“erfahren” and “erfuhren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,074
- “erfahren” frequency rank
- #15,343
- “erfuhren” frequency rank
- 16417
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfahren | erfuhren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch eigenes Erleben kennen lernen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs erfahren |
Where the eye mixes erfahren and erfuhren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erfahren and erfuhren follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: erfahren vs erfuhren
A purely visual mix-up. erfahren ([ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁən]) 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 a single letter - a in “erfahren” becomes u in “erfuhren”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16417, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erfahren is recorded at frequency rank #1,074, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁən]. 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 16417, this pair ranks #1,936,036 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erfahren vs erfuhren
Shared letters: efhnr. Private to "erfahren": a. Private to "erfuhren": u.
"erfahren" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erfuhren" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erfahren" and "erfuhren" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "erfahren" or "erfuhren" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erfahren" 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 #1,936,036 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfahren" 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 #1,936,036 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.