erwischen

[ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃn̩]

/[ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃn̩]/ verb

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

The verdict

“erwischen” has 14 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #13,592. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,592
frequency rank, German
4,632
“E” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - jemanden oder etwas in die Hände, in die Gewalt, zu fassen bekommen, festhalten

Corpus desk

Index DE-erwischen · erwischen · German

erwischen · rank #13,592 · 14 variants · 9 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,592
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,632
  • PHOTO-FINISH erwecken

Nearest frequency peer: erwecken (-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.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „erwischen“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „erwischen“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

erwischen vs erwischt
78% similar
erwischen vs ethischen
78% similar
erwischen vs erwischte
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for erwischen
PropertyValue
Headworderwischen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃn̩]
Letters9
Frequency rank#13,592
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „erwischen“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.erwischenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „erwecken“ (#13,591), „erzeugten“ (#13,593), „erfreulich“ (#13,590). Unter 4,632 „E“-Lemmata liegt „erwischen“ bei #13,592. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around erwischen (IPA [ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #13,592 among 4,632 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for erwischen, with forms such as "eriwschen", "errwischen", and "erwicshen". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "erwischt", "ethischen", "erwischte", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is erwischen, spelled E-R-W-I-S-C-H-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    jemanden oder etwas in die Hände, in die Gewalt, zu fassen bekommen, festhalten
  2. 2
    jemanden überraschend bei einer verbotenen, heimlichen Handlung antreffen
  3. 3
    jemanden oder etwas (gerade noch rechtzeitig) erreichen
  4. 4
    jemand wird von einem meist einschneidenden, unvorhergesehenen oder prägenden Ereignis, für welches das „es“ steht, überrascht

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Die Polizei wird die Gammelfleisch-Betrüger schon erwischen.
  2. Hab ich dich erwischt - du gehst nachts heimlich an den Kühlschrank!

Synonyms

ertappen

This word in other languages

catch(English)atrapar(Español)choper(Français)agarrar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eriwschen
  • errwischen
  • erwicshen
  • erwiscchen
  • erwiscehn
  • erwischenn
  • erwischhen
  • erwischne
  • erwishcen
  • erwisschen
  • erwsichen
  • erwwischen
  • ewrischen
  • rewischen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of erwischen - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

eriwschen2errwischen1erwicshen2erwiscchen1erwiscehn2erwischenn1erwischhen1erwischne2
Edit distance from "erwischen"

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 "erwischen"?
"erwischen" is spelled E-R-W-I-S-C-H-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃn̩].
What does "erwischen" mean?
As a verb, "erwischen" means: jemanden oder etwas in die Hände, in die Gewalt, zu fassen bekommen, festhalten
What words are commonly confused with "erwischen"?
"erwischen" is commonly confused with "erwischt", "ethischen", "erwischte". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "erwischen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "erwischen" is [ɛɐ̯ˈvɪʃn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "erwischen" come from?
"erwischen" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "erwischen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

erzeugten#13,593eskaliert#13,594entsorgen#13,587folgendem#13,603

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

effizienter14 variantsgestritten14 variantsgetauscht14 variantsGleichung14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list