Which to use
“erfährt” is a verb and “erwählt” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,116
- “erfährt” frequency rank
- #26,395
- “erwählt” frequency rank
- 30511
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfährt | erwählt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erfahren | für eine bestimmte Aufgabe ausgesucht, bevorzugt |
Where the eye mixes erfährt and erwählt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erfährt and erwählt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: erfährt vs erwählt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erfährt is [ɛɐ̯ˈfɛːɐ̯t] while erwählt is [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːlt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30511, 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]. erwählt is at rank #26,395, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːlt].
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 30511, this pair ranks #1,746,405 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erfährt vs erwählt
Shared letters: ehrtä. Private to "erfährt": f. Private to "erwählt": lw.
"erfährt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC · "erwählt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erfährt" and "erwählt" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "erfährt" or "erwählt" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erfährt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erwählt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,746,405 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfährt" and "erwählt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erwählt vs erwähnst". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,746,405 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.