erwachsen
German, verb[ɛɐ̯ˈvaksn̩]
erwachsen is spelled E-R-W-A-C-H-S-E-N (9 letters) and appears 13 times per million words in written German, the 5,698th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Erwachsen is a German verb meaning “to grow up, to grow” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a past participle of erwachsen. The German Wiktionary defines it as “sich aus einem Sachverhalt ergeben”.
What does erwachsen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to grow up, to grow
- 2
to spring up, to spring from, to proceed from
- 3
to accrue
- 4
to grow out of
- 5
to arise (difficulties, tasks)
adjective
- 1
adult, grown-up, grown, full-grown
erwachsen sein
verb
- 1
past participle of erwachsen
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. aus dem Kindesalter heraus, über das Jugendalter hinausgewachsen
verb: 1. sich aus einem Sachverhalt ergeben 2. sich allmählich herausbilden, langsam entstehen
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 erwachsen
- erwächst present singular third-person
- erwuchs past
- erwüchse past subjunctive
- sein auxiliary
- 6 strong
- erwachsend participle present
- erwachse first-person indicative present
- erwachst indicative plural present
- erwachsest second-person singular subjunctive
- erwachset plural second-person subjunctive
- erwuchsen first-person indicative plural
- erwüchsen first-person formal plural
- erwuchsest indicative preterite second-person
- erwuchst indicative preterite second-person
- erwüchsest formal rare second-person
- erwüchst formal rare second-person
- erwüchset formal plural rare
- erwachs imperative second-person singular
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce erwachsen?
- [ɛɐ̯ˈvaksn̩]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to erwachsen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is erwachsen in German?
erwachsen appears 13 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).