erfragenvserregenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“erfragen” and “erregen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#34,625
“erfragen” frequency rank
#17,875
“erregen” frequency rank
52500
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erfragen erregen
Definition eine Auskunft durch Fragen erhalten, um eine Auskunft bitten jemanden oder sich in Unruhe oder Ärger versetzen; jemanden aktivieren; jemanden (sexuell) stimulieren

Where the eye mixes erfragen and erregen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erfragen runs 8 letters (VCCCVCVC) against erregen's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
erfragen
7 ch
erregen

Visual trap between erfragen and erregen

A purely visual mix-up. erfragen ([ɛɐ̯ˈfʁaːɡn̩]) and erregen ([ɛɐ̯ˈʁeːɡn̩]) 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 52500, 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]. erregen is at rank #17,875, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʁeːɡn̩].

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 52500, this pair ranks #1,094,319 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erfragen vs erregen

Shared letters: egnr. Private to "erfragen": af. Private to "erregen": -.

"erfragen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC  ·  "erregen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erfragenefrragen · erfargen · erffragen · erfraegn · erfragenn · erfraggen · erfragne · erfrgaen
  • erregeneregen · erergen · erreegn · erregenn · erreggen · erregne · errgeen · reregen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "erfragen" and "erregen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈfʁaːɡn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈʁeːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erfragen" or "erregen"?
"erregen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,875 in our German list, against #34,625 for "erfragen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erfragen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erregen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,094,319 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erfragen" and "erregen" 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 #1,094,319 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list