Which to use
“Erfahrung” and “Ernährung” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #924
- “Erfahrung” frequency rank
- #3,244
- “Ernährung” frequency rank
- 4168
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Erfahrung | Ernährung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Kenntnis, die jemand durch wiederholte Praxis in einem bestimmten Gebiet bekommt | die Zufuhr von Nahrung |
Where the eye mixes Erfahrung and Ernährung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Erfahrung and Ernährung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between Erfahrung and Ernährung
A purely visual mix-up. Erfahrung ([ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁʊŋ]) and Ernährung ([ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːʁʊŋ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4168, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Erfahrung is recorded at frequency rank #924, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfaːʁʊŋ]. Ernährung is at rank #3,244, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːʁʊŋ].
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 4168, this pair ranks #1,998,409 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Erfahrung vs Ernährung
Shared letters: eghnru. Private to "Erfahrung": af. Private to "Ernährung": ä.
"Erfahrung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC · "Ernährung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Erfahrung ← efrahrung · erafhrung · erfahhrung · erfahrnug · erfahrrung · erfahrugn · erfahrungg · erfahrunng
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Erfahrung" for "Ernährung" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Erfahrung" or "Ernährung" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Erfahrung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ernährung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,998,409 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Erfahrung" and "Ernährung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ernährung vs Erwähnung". 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 #1,998,409 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.