nachforschen

[ˈnaːxˌfɔʁʃn̩]

/[ˈnaːxˌfɔʁʃn̩]/ verb

The verdict

“nachforschen” is uncommon German (frequency #66,518 among 1,954 “N” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#66,518
frequency rank, German
1,954
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - sich intensiv mit dem Sammeln von Informationen über etwas beschäftigen

Corpus desk

Index DE-nachforschen · nachforschen · German

nachforschen · rank #66,518 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #66,518
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,954
  • PHOTO-FINISH nachgeahmt

Nearest frequency peer: nachgeahmt (+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 „nachforschen“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for nachforschen
PropertyValue
Headwordnachforschen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈnaːxˌfɔʁʃn̩]
Letters12
Frequency rank#66,518
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „nachforschen“ im Deutschen

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).nachforschenfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „nachgeahmt“ (#66,519), „Nachnahme“ (#66,520), „mürbe“ (#66,515). Unter 1,954 „N“-Lemmata liegt „nachforschen“ bei #66,518. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

nachforschen is uncommon German at frequency #66,518 among 1,954 “N” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [ˈnaːxˌfɔʁʃn̩]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for nachforschen in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is nachforschen, spelled N-A-C-H-F-O-R-S-C-H-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    sich intensiv mit dem Sammeln von Informationen über etwas beschäftigen
  2. 2
    einer Sache nachgehen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Wir haben nachgeforscht und herausgefunden: Im selben Zeitraum sind 140 Kinder gestorben, weil sie Öl aus den Duftlampen ihrer Eltern getrunken haben.
  2. Das US-Verteidigungsministerium will im Irak nachforschen, ob hunderttausende verschwundene Waffen in falsche Hände gelangt sind.

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); 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 "nachforschen"?
"nachforschen" is spelled N-A-C-H-F-O-R-S-C-H-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈnaːxˌfɔʁʃn̩].
What does "nachforschen" mean?
As a verb, "nachforschen" means: sich intensiv mit dem Sammeln von Informationen über etwas beschäftigen
How do you pronounce "nachforschen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nachforschen" is [ˈnaːxˌfɔʁʃn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "nachforschen" come from?
"nachforschen" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "nachforschen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list