erstechen

[ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛçn̩]

/[ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛçn̩]/ verb

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

The verdict

“erstechen” is uncommon German (frequency #86,437 among 4,632 “E” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#86,437
frequency rank, German
4,632
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - jemanden oder etwas mit einem spitzen Gegenstand (meist mit einem Messer) töten

Corpus desk

Index DE-erstechen · erstechen · German

erstechen · rank #86,437 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #86,437
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,632
  • PHOTO-FINISH Erstdruck

Nearest frequency peer: Erstdruck (-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.

Langschwanz-Ränge nahe „erstechen“

Dünnes Band: Balken invertieren den Rang, seltenere Formen wirken kürzer

corpus weight

What this shows Langschwanz-Sicht: wo „erstechen“ gegen ähnlich seltene deutsche Ränge sitzt.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for erstechen
PropertyValue
Headworderstechen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛçn̩]
Letters9
Frequency rank#86,437
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „erstechen“ im Deutschen

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).erstechenfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „Erstdruck“ (#86,436), „erstinstanzliche“ (#86,438), „ernährten“ (#86,435). Unter 4,632 „E“-Lemmata liegt „erstechen“ bei #86,437. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

erstechen is uncommon German at frequency #86,437 among 4,632 “E” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛçn̩]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "jemanden oder etwas mit einem spitzen Gegenstand (meist mit einem Messer) töten".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for erstechen, a sign its spelling follows regular German conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is erstechen, spelled E-R-S-T-E-C-H-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    jemanden oder etwas mit einem spitzen Gegenstand (meist mit einem Messer) töten

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. In einem irrsinnigen Eifersuchtsanfall erstach der Familienvater seine Frau.

This word in other languages

knife(English)acuchillar(Español)poignarder(Français)

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 "erstechen"?
"erstechen" is spelled E-R-S-T-E-C-H-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛçn̩].
What does "erstechen" mean?
As a verb, "erstechen" means: jemanden oder etwas mit einem spitzen Gegenstand (meist mit einem Messer) töten
How do you pronounce "erstechen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "erstechen" is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛçn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "erstechen" come from?
"erstechen" 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 "erstechen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Erstdruck#86,436ernährten#86,435erhobener#86,431ergebener#86,430

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list