ergreifen

[ɛɐ̯ˈɡʁaɪ̯fn̩]

/[ɛɐ̯ˈɡʁaɪ̯fn̩]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“ergreifen” has 13 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #8,552. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,552
frequency rank, German
4,632
“E” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - mit den Händen anfassen, festhalten, nach etwas greifen

Corpus desk

Index DE-ergreifen · ergreifen · German

ergreifen · rank #8,552 · 13 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,552
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,632
  • PHOTO-FINISH entfernten

Nearest frequency peer: entfernten (-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 „ergreifen“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „ergreifen“ 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).

ergreifen vs ergreift
78% similar
ergreifen vs ergriffen
78% similar
ergreifen vs ergreifend
90% similar

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

Key facts for ergreifen
PropertyValue
Headwordergreifen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ɛɐ̯ˈɡʁaɪ̯fn̩]
Letters9
Frequency rank#8,552
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „ergreifen“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).ergreifenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „entfernten“ (#8,551), „Ermittler“ (#8,553), „Emil“ (#8,550). Unter 4,632 „E“-Lemmata liegt „ergreifen“ bei #8,552. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around ergreifen (IPA [ɛɐ̯ˈɡʁaɪ̯fn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #8,552 among 4,632 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for ergreifen, with forms such as "egrreifen", "ergerifen", and "erggreifen". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "ergreift", "ergriffen", "ergreifend", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is ergreifen, spelled E-R-G-R-E-I-F-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    mit den Händen anfassen, festhalten, nach etwas greifen
  2. 2
    jemanden gefangen nehmen, festnehmen
  3. 3
    jemanden innerlich erregen, bewegen; von einem bestimmten Gefühl, einer gewissen Empfindung erfüllt werden

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Plötzlich ergreift er meinen Arm.
  2. Blinde müssen sich die Welt ergreifen.

This word in other languages

grab(English)coger(Español)prendre(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • egrreifen
  • ergerifen
  • erggreifen
  • ergrefien
  • ergreiefn
  • ergreifenn
  • ergreiffen
  • ergreifne
  • ergriefen
  • ergrreifen
  • errgeifen
  • errgreifen
  • regreifen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

egrreifen2ergerifen2erggreifen1ergrefien2ergreiefn2ergreifenn1ergreiffen1ergreifne2
Edit distance from "ergreifen"

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 "ergreifen"?
"ergreifen" is spelled E-R-G-R-E-I-F-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛɐ̯ˈɡʁaɪ̯fn̩].
What does "ergreifen" mean?
As a verb, "ergreifen" means: mit den Händen anfassen, festhalten, nach etwas greifen
What words are commonly confused with "ergreifen"?
"ergreifen" is commonly confused with "ergreift", "ergriffen", "ergreifend". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ergreifen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ergreifen" is [ɛɐ̯ˈɡʁaɪ̯fn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ergreifen" come from?
"ergreifen" 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 "ergreifen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Ermittler#8,553Flensburg#8,561dominiert#8,541container#8,536

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

Badezimmer13 variantsAssistent13 variantsabgezogen13 variantsnüchtern13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list