erkälten

[ɛɐ̯ˈkɛltn̩]

/[ɛɐ̯ˈkɛltn̩]/ verb

The verdict

“erkälten” 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) - sich eine Erkältung zuziehen

Corpus desk

Index DE-erkalten · erkälten · German

erkälten · 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 erkälten
PropertyValue
Headworderkälten
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ɛɐ̯ˈkɛltn̩]
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „erkälten“ im Deutschen

erkältensitzt jenseits der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Formen, im Schwanz spezialisierten oder seltenen Wortschatzes.

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

Rare enough to double-check

erkälten is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛltn̩]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

erkälten has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is erkälten, spelled E-R-K-Ä-L-T-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    sich eine Erkältung zuziehen
  2. 2
    jemanden oder etwas aktiv in einen kälteren Zustand versetzen oder auch kalt werden lassen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Der Bub erkältete sich schon zum zweiten Mal in diesem Frühjahr.
  2. Du wirst dich noch erkälten, wenn du ohne Schal aus dem Haus gehst.

Synonyms

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 "erkälten"?
"erkälten" is spelled E-R-K-Ä-L-T-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛltn̩].
What does "erkälten" mean?
As a verb, "erkälten" means: sich eine Erkältung zuziehen
How do you pronounce "erkälten"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "erkälten" is [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛltn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "erkälten" come from?
"erkälten" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list