ernährevsernährenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#45,252
“ernähre” frequency rank
#7,910
“ernähren” frequency rank
53162
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ernähre ernähren
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ernähren regelmäßig für Nahrung sorgen

Where the eye mixes ernähre and ernähren

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

7 ch
ernähre
8 ch
ernähren

Visual trap between ernähre and ernähren

A purely visual mix-up. ernähre ([ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːʁə]) and ernähren ([ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːʁən]) 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 extra letter(s) - “ernähre” sits inside “ernähren”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53162, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ernähre is recorded at frequency rank #45,252, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːʁə]. ernähren is at rank #7,910, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːʁən].

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 53162, this pair ranks #1,068,796 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ernähre vs ernähren

Shared letters: ehnrä. Private to "ernähre": -. Private to "ernähren": -.

"ernähre" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "ernähren" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ernähre" and "ernähren" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːʁə] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈnɛːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ernähre" vs "ernähren" - which ranks higher?
"ernähren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,910 in our German list, against #45,252 for "ernähre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "ernähre" and "ernähren" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ernähre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ernähren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,068,796 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ernähre" and "ernähren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ernähre vs erwähne". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,068,796 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