erfahren vs ernähre, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#1,074
“erfahren” frequency rank: #45,252
“ernähre” frequency rank: 46326
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	erfahren	ernähre
Definition	durch eigenes Erleben kennen lernen	1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ernähren

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set erfahren and ernähre apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

erfahren

7 ch

ernähre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. erfahren ([ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁən]) and ernähre ([ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːʁə]) 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 46326, 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]. ernähre is at rank #45,252, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːʁə].

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 46326, this pair ranks #1,322,921 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erfahren vs ernähre

Shared letters: ehnr. Private to "erfahren": af. Private to "ernähre": ä.

"erfahren" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "ernähre" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

erfahren ← efrahren · erafhren · erfahern · erfahhren · erfahrenn · erfahrne · erfahrren · erfarhen

Frequency comparison

erfahren#1,074

ernähre#45,252

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erfahren" and "ernähre" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁən] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːʁə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "erfahren" or "ernähre"?

"erfahren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,074 in our German list, against #45,252 for "ernähre". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering erfahren vs ernähre

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “erfahren” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable