erfinden

[ɛɐ̯ˈfɪndn̩]

/[ɛɐ̯ˈfɪndn̩]/ verb

The verdict

“erfinden” has 12 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #9,535. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,535
frequency rank, German
4,632
“E” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - eine technische Neuheit erdenken; eine Erfindung machen

Corpus desk

Index DE-erfinden · erfinden · German

erfinden · rank #9,535 · 12 variants · 9 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,535
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,632
  • PHOTO-FINISH entstandene

Nearest frequency peer: entstandene (-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.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „erfinden“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „erfinden“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

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).

erfinden vs erfunden
88% similar
erfinden vs Erfinder
75% similar
erfinden vs erkunden
75% similar

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

Key facts for erfinden
PropertyValue
Headworderfinden
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ɛɐ̯ˈfɪndn̩]
Letters8
Frequency rank#9,535
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „erfinden“

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).erfindenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „entstandene“ (#9,534), „Erleichterung“ (#9,536), „entschuldige“ (#9,533). Unter 4,632 „E“-Lemmata liegt „erfinden“ bei #9,535. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around erfinden (IPA [ɛɐ̯ˈfɪndn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #9,535 among 4,632 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for erfinden, with forms such as "efrinden", "erffinden", and "erfidnen". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "erfunden", "Erfinder", "erkunden", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is erfinden, spelled E-R-F-I-N-D-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    eine technische Neuheit erdenken; eine Erfindung machen
  2. 2
    sich etwas Unwahres ausdenken

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Etwas zu erfinden ist weder als Kunst noch als Wissenschaft zu verstehen.
  2. Sie erfindet alle möglichen Hilfsmittel für Linkshänder.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • efrinden
  • erffinden
  • erfidnen
  • erfindden
  • erfindenn
  • erfindne
  • erfinedn
  • erfinnden
  • erfniden
  • erifnden
  • errfinden
  • refinden

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of erfinden - 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.

efrinden2erffinden1erfidnen2erfindden1erfindenn1erfindne2erfinedn2erfinnden1
Edit distance from "erfinden"

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 "erfinden"?
"erfinden" is spelled E-R-F-I-N-D-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛɐ̯ˈfɪndn̩].
What does "erfinden" mean?
As a verb, "erfinden" means: eine technische Neuheit erdenken; eine Erfindung machen
What words are commonly confused with "erfinden"?
"erfinden" is commonly confused with "erfunden", "Erfinder", "erkunden". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "erfinden"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "erfinden" is [ɛɐ̯ˈfɪndn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "erfinden" come from?
"erfinden" 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 "erfinden", 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 (12 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list