erfassen

[ɛɐ̯ˈfasn̩]

/[ɛɐ̯ˈfasn̩]/ verb

The verdict

“erfassen” has 11 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #7,311. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,311
frequency rank, German
4,632
“E” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - ergreifen, mitreißen; meistens durch ein vorbeikommendes Fahrzeug

Corpus desk

Index DE-erfassen · erfassen · German

erfassen · rank #7,311 · 11 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,311
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,632
  • PHOTO-FINISH entnehmen

Nearest frequency peer: entnehmen (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “erfassen”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “erfassen” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

erfassen vs erfasst
75% similar
erfassen vs erlassen
88% similar
erfassen vs Ermessen
63% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for erfassen
PropertyValue
Headworderfassen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ɛɐ̯ˈfasn̩]
Letters8
Frequency rank#7,311
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “erfassen” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.erfassenliegt hier:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „entnehmen“ (#7,310), „ergänzen“ (#7,312), „eingezogen“ (#7,309). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around erfassen (IPA [ɛɐ̯ˈfasn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #7,311 among 4,632 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for erfassen, with forms such as "efrassen", "erafssen", and "erfasen". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "erfasst", "erlassen", "Ermessen", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is erfassen, spelled E-R-F-A-S-S-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    ergreifen, mitreißen; meistens durch ein vorbeikommendes Fahrzeug
  2. 2
    das Wesentliche einer Sache verstehen
  3. 3
    Daten, Informationen aufnehmen
  4. 4
    von starken Gefühlen ergriffen werden

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how erfassen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Das Fahrzeug wurde auf dem Bahnübergang von einem Zug erfasst und mitgerissen.
  2. Er erfasste die Situation sofort.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • efrassen
  • erafssen
  • erfasen
  • erfasesn
  • erfassenn
  • erfassne
  • erfaßen
  • erffassen
  • erfsasen
  • errfassen
  • refassen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of erfassen - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

efrassen2erafssen2erfasen1erfasesn2erfassenn1erfassne2erfaßen2erffassen1
Edit distance from "erfassen"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "erfassen"?
"erfassen" is spelled E-R-F-A-S-S-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛɐ̯ˈfasn̩].
What does "erfassen" mean?
As a verb, "erfassen" means: ergreifen, mitreißen; meistens durch ein vorbeikommendes Fahrzeug
What words are commonly confused with "erfassen"?
"erfassen" is commonly confused with "erfasst", "erlassen", "Ermessen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "erfassen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "erfassen" is [ɛɐ̯ˈfasn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "erfassen" come from?
"erfassen" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "erfassen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

What to do next

You've looked up "erfassen". Here's where to go from here.

  • "erfassen" maps to 7 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "erfasst". View pair
  • 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #7,311 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "E" letter cohort. E–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list