widerfuhr

[ˌvidɐˈfuːɐ̯]

/[ˌvidɐˈfuːɐ̯]/ verb

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

The verdict

“widerfuhr” is uncommon German (frequency #79,948 among 2,930 “W” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#79,948
frequency rank, German
2,930
“W” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs widerfahren

Corpus desk

Index DE-widerfuhr · widerfuhr · German

widerfuhr · rank #79,948 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #79,948
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,930
  • PHOTO-FINISH Wetterlagen

Nearest frequency peer: Wetterlagen (-2 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 „widerfuhr“

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

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for widerfuhr
PropertyValue
Headwordwiderfuhr
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˌvidɐˈfuːɐ̯]
Letters9
Frequency rank#79,948
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „widerfuhr“ im Deutschen

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.widerfuhrfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „Wetterlagen“ (#79,946), „widerwärtigen“ (#79,950), „Werders“ (#79,945). Unter 2,930 „W“-Lemmata liegt „widerfuhr“ bei #79,948. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

widerfuhr is uncommon German at frequency #79,948 among 2,930 “W” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [ˌvidɐˈfuːɐ̯]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "3. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs widerfahren".

widerfuhr doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No documented word history exists for this headword, 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 widerfuhr, spelled W-I-D-E-R-F-U-H-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    3. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs widerfahren

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 "widerfuhr"?
"widerfuhr" is spelled W-I-D-E-R-F-U-H-R. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌvidɐˈfuːɐ̯].
What does "widerfuhr" mean?
As a verb, "widerfuhr" means: 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs widerfahren
How do you pronounce "widerfuhr"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "widerfuhr" is [ˌvidɐˈfuːɐ̯]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "widerfuhr" come from?
"widerfuhr" 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 "widerfuhr", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Wohnrecht#79,961wärmenden#79,963Viechtach#79,899Zähigkeit#80,002

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list