Which to use
“erfragen” and “erraten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,625
- “erfragen” frequency rank
- #15,875
- “erraten” frequency rank
- 50500
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfragen | erraten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Auskunft durch Fragen erhalten, um eine Auskunft bitten | die Antwort auf eine Frage, ohne die Antwort zu wissen, richtig beantworten |
Where the eye mixes erfragen and erraten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erfragen runs 8 letters (VCCCVCVC) against erraten's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erfragen vs erraten
A purely visual mix-up. erfragen ([ɛɐ̯ˈfʁaːɡn̩]) and erraten ([ɛɐ̯ˈʁaːtn̩]) 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 50500, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erfragen is recorded at frequency rank #34,625, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfʁaːɡn̩]. erraten is at rank #15,875, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʁaːtn̩].
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 50500, this pair ranks #1,171,354 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erfragen vs erraten
Shared letters: aenr. Private to "erfragen": fg. Private to "erraten": t.
"erfragen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC · "erraten" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erfragen" for "erraten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "erfragen" or "erraten" 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 "erfragen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erraten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,171,354 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfragen" and "erraten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erfragen vs erfroren". 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 #1,171,354 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.