erbarmen
German, verb
erbarmen is spelled E-R-B-A-R-M-E-N (8 letters) and appears 1.9 times per million words in written German, the 25,497th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Erbarmen is a German verb meaning “to take pity on, to have mercy for” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Erbarmen is a different word: “gerund of erbarmen; commiseration, compassion”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “jemandes Mitleid erregen”.
What does erbarmen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to take pity on, to have mercy for
Herr, erbarme Dich unser.
noun
- 1
neutergerund of erbarmen; commiseration, compassion
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
noun: 1. starke innere Anteilnahme am Leid oder an der Not anderer, verbunden mit dem Drang, ihnen zu helfen oder sie zu trösten
verb: 1. jemandes Mitleid erregen 2. jemandem helfen, da er Mitleid erregt hat
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of erbarmen
- erbarmt present singular third-person
- erbarmte past
- haben auxiliary
- erbarmend participle present
- erbarme first-person indicative present
- erbarmst indicative present second-person
- erbarmest second-person singular subjunctive
- erbarmet plural second-person subjunctive
- erbarmten first-person indicative plural
- erbarmtest indicative preterite second-person
- erbarmtet indicative plural preterite
- erbarm imperative second-person singular
- habe erbarmt first-person indicative multiword-construction
- haben erbarmt first-person indicative multiword-construction
- Erbarmens genitive singular
- erbarm! imperative singular
- erbarme! imperative singular
- erbarmt! imperative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to erbarmen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is erbarmen in German?
erbarmen appears 1.9 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).