erflehen

[ɛɐ̯ˈfleːən]

/[ɛɐ̯ˈfleːən]/ verb

The verdict

“erflehen” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - bitten, indem man sich zurücknimmt und demütig (unter Flehen) erbittet, was einem nicht zusteht

Corpus desk

Index DE-erflehen · erflehen · German

erflehen · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "E" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for erflehen
PropertyValue
Headworderflehen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ɛɐ̯ˈfleːən]
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „erflehen“ im Deutschen

erflehenschafft es nicht in die Top 100.000 des Deutschen: Zone für Fach-, Alt- oder Seltenwortschatz.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

erflehen is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed [ɛɐ̯ˈfleːən]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "bitten, indem man sich zurücknimmt und demütig (unter Flehen) erbittet, was einem nicht zusteht".

Zero misspellings are on record for erflehen in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is erflehen, spelled E-R-F-L-E-H-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    bitten, indem man sich zurücknimmt und demütig (unter Flehen) erbittet, was einem nicht zusteht

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. „Erstens ist es mein Wille, dass du es erhältst, und sodann bewirke ich, dass du es willst; hierauf bewirke ich, dass du es erflehst, und wenn du es erflehst, wie sollte es dann möglich sein, dass dir das Flehen nicht gewährt würde?“
  2. „In vorchristlicher Zeit ehrte man Priesterinnen als Mittlerinnen zu den Göttern, ihre Hilfe erflehte man, an ihre magischen Kräfte knüpften Menschen große Hoffnungen.“

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "erflehen"?
"erflehen" is spelled E-R-F-L-E-H-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛɐ̯ˈfleːən].
What does "erflehen" mean?
As a verb, "erflehen" means: bitten, indem man sich zurücknimmt und demütig (unter Flehen) erbittet, was einem nicht zusteht
How do you pronounce "erflehen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "erflehen" is [ɛɐ̯ˈfleːən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "erflehen" come from?
"erflehen" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list