ernähren
German, verb/ʔɛɐ̯ˈnɛːɐ̯n/
ernähren is spelled E-R-N-Ä-H-R-E-N (8 letters) and appears 8.7 times per million words in written German, the 7,885th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Ernähren is a German verb meaning “to nourish, to feed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “regelmäßig für Nahrung sorgen”.
What does ernähren mean in English?
verb
- 1
to nourish, to feed
- 2
to eat
Sie ernähren sich von Quallen, Tintenfischen und Plankton.
- 3
to support
Er arbeitet schwer, um seine große Familie zu ernähren.
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. regelmäßig für Nahrung sorgen 2. sich regelmäßig mit Nahrung versorgen 3. für den Lebensunterhalt sorgen, verpflegen 4. sich regelmäßig verpflegen
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 ernähren
- ernährt present singular third-person
- ernährte past
- haben auxiliary
- ernährend participle present
- ernähre first-person indicative present
- ernährst indicative present second-person
- ernährest second-person singular subjunctive
- ernähret plural second-person subjunctive
- ernährten first-person indicative plural
- ernährtest indicative preterite second-person
- ernährtet indicative plural preterite
- ernähr imperative second-person singular
- habe ernährt first-person indicative multiword-construction
- haben ernährt first-person indicative multiword-construction
- ernähr! imperative singular
- ernähre! imperative singular
- ernährt! imperative plural
- ernährt haben active infinitive perfect
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce ernähren?
- /ʔɛɐ̯ˈnɛːɐ̯n/
- /ʔɛɐ̯ˈnɛːʁən/
- /ʔɛɐ̯ˈneːɐ̯n/
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to ernähren
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is ernähren in German?
ernähren appears 8.7 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).