Which to use
“erfuhren” and “erfüllen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,343
- “erfuhren” frequency rank
- #2,709
- “erfüllen” frequency rank
- 18052
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfuhren | erfüllen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs erfahren | die Gedanken beherrschen, starke Gefühle auslösen |
Where the eye mixes erfuhren and erfüllen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erfuhren and erfüllen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: erfuhren vs erfüllen
A purely visual mix-up. erfuhren ([ɛɐ̯ˈfuːʁən]) and erfüllen ([ɛɐ̯ˈfʏlən]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18052, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erfuhren is recorded at frequency rank #15,343, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfuːʁən]. erfüllen is at rank #2,709, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfʏlən].
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 18052, this pair ranks #1,921,859 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erfuhren vs erfüllen
Shared letters: efnr. Private to "erfuhren": hu. Private to "erfüllen": lü.
"erfuhren" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "erfüllen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erfuhren ← efruhren · erffuhren · erfhuren · erfuhern · erfuhhren · erfuhrenn · erfuhrne · erfuhrren
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erfuhren" and "erfüllen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "erfuhren" or "erfüllen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "erfuhren" and "erfüllen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erfuhren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erfüllen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,921,859 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfuhren" and "erfüllen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erfroren vs erfuhren". 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 #1,921,859 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.