erschöpfen
[ɛɐ̯ˈʃœp͡fn̩]
The verdict
“erschöpfen” is an uncommon German word, ranked #81,512 in German word frequency and used as a verb.
- #81,512
- frequency rank, German
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - müde und kraftlos werden, seine Kräfte verlieren
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | erschöpfen |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [ɛɐ̯ˈʃœp͡fn̩] |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #81,512 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “erschöpfen” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for erschöpfen is 10 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ɛɐ̯ˈʃœp͡fn̩]. Corpus data places it at rank #81,512 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No misspelling variants are generated for erschöpfen in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is erschöpfen, spelled E-R-S-C-H-Ö-P-F-E-N.
Definition
- 1müde und kraftlos werden, seine Kräfte verlieren
- 2etwas bis an die Grenzen des Machbaren nutzen, jede Möglichkeit versuchen, jeden Aspekt bedenken
- 3komplett verbrauchen, bis nichts mehr da ist
- 4auf einer Vorstufe, einem gewissen Niveau, stehenbleiben und sich nicht darüber hinaus weiterentwickeln
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); 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
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Using “erschöpfen”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is E-R-S-C-H-Ö-P-F-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ɛɐ̯ˈʃœp͡fn̩] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.