Which to use
“erfährt” and “ernährt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,116
- “erfährt” frequency rank
- #14,057
- “ernährt” frequency rank
- 18173
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfährt | ernährt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erfahren | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ernähren |
Where the eye mixes erfährt and ernährt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erfährt and ernährt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses erfährt with ernährt
A purely visual mix-up. erfährt ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɛːɐ̯t]) and ernährt ([ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːɐ̯t]) 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 - f in “erfährt” becomes n in “ernährt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18173, 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]. ernährt is at rank #14,057, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːɐ̯t].
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 18173, this pair ranks #1,920,728 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erfährt vs ernährt
Shared letters: ehrtä. Private to "erfährt": f. Private to "ernährt": n.
"erfährt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC · "ernährt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erfährt" and "ernährt" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "erfährt" vs "ernährt" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "erfährt" and "ernährt" 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 "ernährt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,920,728 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfährt" and "ernährt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ernähre vs ernährt". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,920,728 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.