erfinden
German, verb
erfinden is spelled E-R-F-I-N-D-E-N (8 letters) and appears 6.9 times per million words in written German, the 9,526th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Erfinden is a German verb meaning “to invent” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Erfinden is a different word: “gerund of erfinden”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “eine technische Neuheit erdenken; eine Erfindung machen”.
What does erfinden mean in English?
verb
- 1
to invent
- 2
to fabricate (something untrue); to make up (a story)
- 3
to find out, to discover
noun
- 1
neutergerund of erfinden
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. eine technische Neuheit erdenken; eine Erfindung machen 2. sich etwas Unwahres ausdenken
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 erfinden
- erfindet present singular third-person
- erfand past
- erfunden participle past
- erfände past subjunctive
- haben auxiliary
- 3 strong
- erfindend participle present
- erfinde first-person indicative present
- erfindest indicative present second-person
- erfanden first-person indicative plural
- erfänden first-person formal plural
- erfandest indicative preterite second-person
- erfandst indicative preterite second-person
- erfandet indicative plural preterite
- erfändest formal rare second-person
- erfändet formal plural rare
- erfind imperative second-person singular
- erfinde! imperative singular
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to erfinden
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is erfinden in German?
erfinden appears 6.9 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).