erstreben

[ɛɐ̯ˈʃtʁeːbn̩]

/[ɛɐ̯ˈʃtʁeːbn̩]/ verb

The verdict

“erstreben” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - nach etwas streben, etwas zu erreichen suchen

Corpus desk

Index DE-erstreben · erstreben · German

erstreben · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "E" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for erstreben
PropertyValue
Headworderstreben
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ɛɐ̯ˈʃtʁeːbn̩]
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „erstreben“ im Deutschen

erstrebensitzt jenseits der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Formen, im Schwanz spezialisierten oder seltenen Wortschatzes.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

erstreben is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtʁeːbn̩]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "nach etwas streben, etwas zu erreichen suchen".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for erstreben, a sign its spelling follows regular German conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is erstreben, spelled E-R-S-T-R-E-B-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    nach etwas streben, etwas zu erreichen suchen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Präsident George W. Bush wollte sich und den Angehörigen die Schmach öffentlicher Verhandlungen darüber ersparen und erstrebte außergerichtliche Vergleiche.
  2. […] hat Karlsruhe nun höflich, aber bestimmt gesagt, wer das letzte Wort hat: „Das Grundgesetz erstrebt die Einfügung Deutschlands in die Rechtsgemeinschaft friedlicher und freiheitlicher Staaten, verzichtet aber nicht auf die in dem letzten Wort der deutschen Verfassung liegende Souveränität.“

Synonyms

Antonyms

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "erstreben"?
"erstreben" is spelled E-R-S-T-R-E-B-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtʁeːbn̩].
What does "erstreben" mean?
As a verb, "erstreben" means: nach etwas streben, etwas zu erreichen suchen
How do you pronounce "erstreben"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "erstreben" is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtʁeːbn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "erstreben" come from?
"erstreben" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list