Which to use
“erfragen” and “erwägen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,625
- “erfragen” frequency rank
- #24,327
- “erwägen” frequency rank
- 58952
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfragen | erwägen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Auskunft durch Fragen erhalten, um eine Auskunft bitten | in Betracht ziehen |
Where the eye mixes erfragen and erwägen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erfragen runs 8 letters (VCCCVCVC) against erwägen's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erfragen with erwägen
A purely visual mix-up. erfragen ([ɛɐ̯ˈfʁaːɡn̩]) and erwägen ([ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːɡn̩]) 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 58952, 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]. erwägen is at rank #24,327, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈvɛːɡn̩].
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 58952, this pair ranks #842,948 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erfragen vs erwägen
Shared letters: egnr. Private to "erfragen": af. Private to "erwägen": wä.
"erfragen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC · "erwägen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erfragen ← efrragen · erfargen · erffragen · erfraegn · erfragenn · erfraggen · erfragne · erfrgaen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erfragen" and "erwägen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "erfragen" or "erwägen"?
After this comparison
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 "erwägen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #842,948 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfragen" and "erwägen" 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 #842,948 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.