ersticken
German, verb/ɛʁˈʃtɪkən/
ersticken is spelled E-R-S-T-I-C-K-E-N (9 letters) and appears 3.7 times per million words in written German, the 15,332nd most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Ersticken is a German verb meaning “to smother” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “durch fehlende Sauerstoffzufuhr sterben”.
What does ersticken mean in English?
verb
- 1
to smother
- 2
to suffocate
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. durch fehlende Sauerstoffzufuhr sterben 2. jemanden oder etwas durch Abschneiden der Sauerstoffzufuhr töten 3. Feuer durch Abschneiden der Frischluftzufuhr löschen
noun: 1. (drohender) Tod durch eine Beeinträchtigung der inneren oder äußeren Atmung
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 ersticken
- erstickt present singular third-person
- erstickte past
- haben auxiliary
- sein auxiliary
- haben or sein auxiliary
- erstickend participle present
- ersticke first-person indicative present
- erstickst indicative present second-person
- erstickest second-person singular subjunctive
- ersticket plural second-person subjunctive
- erstickten first-person indicative plural
- ersticktest indicative preterite second-person
- ersticktet indicative plural preterite
- erstick imperative second-person singular
- ersticke! imperative singular
- erstickt! imperative plural
- erstickt haben active infinitive perfect
- erstickt werden processual-passive infinitive present
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce ersticken?
- /ɛʁˈʃtɪkən/
- [ʔɛɐ̯ˈʃtɪkŋ̍]
- [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtɪkn̩]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to ersticken
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is ersticken in German?
ersticken appears 3.7 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).