erschrecken

[ɛɐ̯ˈʃʁɛkn̩]

/[ɛɐ̯ˈʃʁɛkn̩]/ verb

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

The verdict

“erschrecken” has 18 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #15,347. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,347
frequency rank, German
4,632
“E” headwords
18
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - jemandem einen Schrecken einflößen

Corpus desk

Index DE-erschrecken · erschrecken · German

erschrecken · rank #15,347 · 18 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,347
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 18 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,632
  • PHOTO-FINISH Erpressung

Nearest frequency peer: Erpressung (-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 „erschrecken“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „erschrecken“ 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).

erschrecken vs erschreckt
82% similar
erschrecken vs erstrecken
82% similar
erschrecken vs erschrocken
91% similar

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

Key facts for erschrecken
PropertyValue
Headworderschrecken
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ɛɐ̯ˈʃʁɛkn̩]
Letters11
Frequency rank#15,347
Misspellings tracked18
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „erschrecken“

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).erschreckenliegt 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: „Erpressung“ (#15,346), „ersticken“ (#15,348), „erleiden“ (#15,345). Unter 4,632 „E“-Lemmata liegt „erschrecken“ bei #15,347. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 18 spelling variants around erschrecken (IPA [ɛɐ̯ˈʃʁɛkn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #15,347 among 4,632 “E” headwords. Dominant gloss: "jemandem einen Schrecken einflößen".

Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for erschrecken, with forms such as "ercshrecken", "errschrecken", and "erscchrecken". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "erschreckt", "erstrecken", "erschrocken", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is erschrecken, spelled E-R-S-C-H-R-E-C-K-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    jemandem einen Schrecken einflößen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Peter hat Simone mit seiner Fahrweise erschreckt.
  2. „Bevor er vom Examinator aufgerufen wurde, war er, mit dem Zylinder eines anderen Kandidaten auf dem Kopfe, durch die Korridore spaziert und hatte den Pedell erschreckt.“

This word in other languages

frighten(English)asustar(Español)apeurer(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ercshrecken
  • errschrecken
  • erscchrecken
  • erschercken
  • erschhrecken
  • erschrceken
  • erschreccken
  • erschrecekn
  • erschreckenn
  • erschreckken
  • erschreckne
  • erschrekcen
  • erschrrecken
  • erscrhecken
  • ershcrecken
  • ersschrecken
  • esrchrecken
  • reschrecken

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of erschrecken - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ercshrecken2errschrecken1erscchrecken1erschercken2erschhrecken1erschrceken2erschreccken1erschrecekn2
Edit distance from "erschrecken"

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 "erschrecken"?
"erschrecken" is spelled E-R-S-C-H-R-E-C-K-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃʁɛkn̩].
What does "erschrecken" mean?
As a verb, "erschrecken" means: jemandem einen Schrecken einflößen
What words are commonly confused with "erschrecken"?
"erschrecken" is commonly confused with "erschreckt", "erstrecken", "erschrocken". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "erschrecken"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "erschrecken" is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃʁɛkn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "erschrecken" come from?
"erschrecken" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "erschrecken", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

evangelisch#15,350frühstücken#15,360Dinosaurier#15,330gerichtlich#15,371

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (18 here; floor ≥5).

beschränkte18 variantsMathematiker18 variantsnachzuweisen18 variantsversteckten18 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list