ertappen

[ɛɐ̯ˈtapn̩]

/[ɛɐ̯ˈtapn̩]/ verb

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

The verdict

“ertappen” is uncommon German (frequency #87,660 among 4,632 “E” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#87,660
frequency rank, German
4,632
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - jemanden bei etwas Verbotenem überraschen

Corpus desk

Index DE-ertappen · ertappen · German

ertappen · rank #87,660 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #87,660
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,632
  • PHOTO-FINISH ertasten

Nearest frequency peer: ertasten (+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 „ertappen“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ertappen
PropertyValue
Headwordertappen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ɛɐ̯ˈtapn̩]
Letters8
Frequency rank#87,660
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „ertappen“ im Deutschen

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).ertappenfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „ertasten“ (#87,661), „ertragreich“ (#87,662), „erzen“ (#87,663). Unter 4,632 „E“-Lemmata liegt „ertappen“ bei #87,660. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ertappen is uncommon German at frequency #87,660 among 4,632 “E” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [ɛɐ̯ˈtapn̩]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for ertappen, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is ertappen, spelled E-R-T-A-P-P-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    jemanden bei etwas Verbotenem überraschen
  2. 2
    sich selbst bei etwas Verbotenem überraschen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Gestern wurden bei uns in der Straße zwei Männer ertappt, die versuchten, ein Auto zu klauen.
  2. Ich ertappte mich immer wieder beim Gedanken an den Badesee, obwohl ich noch eine Hausarbeit zu schreiben hatte.

Synonyms

erwischen

This word in other languages

catch(English)pillarse(Español)prendre sur le fait(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 "ertappen"?
"ertappen" is spelled E-R-T-A-P-P-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛɐ̯ˈtapn̩].
What does "ertappen" mean?
As a verb, "ertappen" means: jemanden bei etwas Verbotenem überraschen
How do you pronounce "ertappen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ertappen" is [ɛɐ̯ˈtapn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ertappen" come from?
"ertappen" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "ertappen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ertasten#87,661estrella#87,666Exorzist#87,670exploits#87,672

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list