Which to use
“erfährt” and “erfuhr” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,116
- “erfährt” frequency rank
- #5,702
- “erfuhr” frequency rank
- 9818
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfährt | erfuhr |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erfahren | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs erfahren |
Where the eye mixes erfährt and erfuhr
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erfährt runs 7 letters (VCCVCCC) against erfuhr's 6 (VCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erfährt vs erfuhr
A purely visual mix-up. erfährt ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɛːɐ̯t]) 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 9818, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erfährt is recorded at frequency rank #4,116, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɛːɐ̯t]. 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 9818, this pair ranks #1,978,160 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erfährt vs erfuhr
Shared letters: efhr. Private to "erfährt": tä. Private to "erfuhr": u.
"erfährt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC · "erfuhr" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erfuhr ← efruhr · erffuhr · erfhur · erfuhhr · erfuhrr · erfurh · errfuhr · erufhr
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erfährt" for "erfuhr" ever safe?
Frequency check: "erfährt" vs "erfuhr" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "erfährt" and "erfuhr" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erfährt" 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 #1,978,160 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfährt" and "erfuhr" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erfährt 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 #1,978,160 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.