Which to use
“erfahrene” is an adjective and “erfuhren” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,709
- “erfahrene” frequency rank
- #15,343
- “erfuhren” frequency rank
- 25052
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfahrene | erfuhren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erfahren | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs erfahren |
Where the eye mixes erfahrene and erfuhren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erfahrene runs 9 letters (VCCVCCVCV) against erfuhren's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erfahrene vs erfuhren
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erfahrene is [ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁənə] while erfuhren is [ɛɐ̯ˈfuːʁən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25052, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erfahrene is recorded at frequency rank #9,709, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁənə]. 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 25052, this pair ranks #1,838,851 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erfahrene vs erfuhren
Shared letters: efhnr. Private to "erfahrene": a. Private to "erfuhren": u.
"erfahrene" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV · "erfuhren" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erfahrene" and "erfuhren" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "erfahrene" vs "erfuhren" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erfahrene" 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 #1,838,851 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfahrene" 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 #1,838,851 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.