"er-" meaning in German

See er- in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Prefix

IPA: /ɛɐ̯/ [standard], /ɛ/, /ɐ/ (note: common speech) Audio: De-er-.ogg
Etymology: From Middle High German er-, from Old High German ir-, from Proto-West Germanic *uʀ-, from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“up, out”). Cognate with Old Saxon ā-, English a-. Doublet of ur-. Compare the use of English up in various verb constructions to emphasize a result, such as rustle up, work up, etc. Etymology templates: {{dercat|de|gmh|gem-pro|inh=2}}, {{inh|de|gmh|er-}} Middle High German er-, {{der|de|goh|ir-}} Old High German ir-, {{der|de|gmw-pro|*uʀ-}} Proto-West Germanic *uʀ-, {{inh|de|gem-pro|*uz-||up, out}} Proto-Germanic *uz- (“up, out”), {{cog|osx|ā-}} Old Saxon ā-, {{cog|en|a-}} English a-, {{dbt|de|ur-}} Doublet of ur-, {{noncog|en|up}} English up Head templates: {{head|de|prefix|cat2=verbal prefixes}} er-
  1. Inseparable verbal prefix emphasizing a result of the action of the verb:
    Inseparable verbal prefix that indicates a successful conclusion, leads to the wanted result.
    Tags: morpheme
    Sense id: en-er--de-prefix-yrdXIKmX Categories (other): German entries with incorrect language header, Pages using catfix, Pages with 5 entries, Pages with entries Disambiguation of German entries with incorrect language header: 46 27 26 Disambiguation of Pages using catfix: 48 26 26 Disambiguation of Pages with 5 entries: 37 19 19 12 13 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 34 16 16 3 3 4 6 6 6 6
  2. Inseparable verbal prefix emphasizing a result of the action of the verb:
    Inseparable verbal prefix that indicates killing or dying.
    Tags: morpheme
    Sense id: en-er--de-prefix-IzPKaW1W
  3. Inseparable verbal prefix emphasizing a result of the action of the verb:
    Inseparable verbal prefix that indicates getting something by some means, usually through conscious effort.
    Tags: morpheme
    Sense id: en-er--de-prefix-xIDOGbzw
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erbarmen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erbauen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erbeben"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erbeten"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erbetteln"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erbeuten"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erbieten"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erbitten"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erbohren"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erborgen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erbrausen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erbrechen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erbrüten"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erdichten"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "ereignen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erfahren"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erfassen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erfechten"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erfeilschen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erfinden"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erfliegen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erfochten"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erfolgen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erforschen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erfreuen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erfrieren"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erfüllen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "ergänzen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "ergeben"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "ergehen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "ergründen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erhalten"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erhängen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erheben"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erhellen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erhitzen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erhoffen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erhöhen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erholen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erinnern"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erkälten"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erkaufen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erkennen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erklären"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erkranken"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erlauben"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erleben"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erledigen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erleichtern"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erleuchten"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erlösen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "ernähren"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "eröffnen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erpressen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erreichen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erschallen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erscheinen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erschießen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erschöpfen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erschrecken"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erschweren"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "ersehnen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "ersparen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erstaunen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "ertragen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "ertrinken"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "ertüfteln"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erwähnen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erwarten"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erwecken"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erweisen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erweitern"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erwerben"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erzählen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erzeugen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erziehen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erzielen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erzittern"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "erzwingen"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "gmh",
        "3": "gem-pro",
        "inh": "2"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "dercat"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "gmh",
        "3": "er-"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German er-",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "goh",
        "3": "ir-"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German ir-",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*uʀ-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *uʀ-",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*uz-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "up, out"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *uz- (“up, out”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "osx",
        "2": "ā-"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Saxon ā-",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "a-"
      },
      "expansion": "English a-",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "ur-"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of ur-",
      "name": "dbt"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "up"
      },
      "expansion": "English up",
      "name": "noncog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Middle High German er-, from Old High German ir-, from Proto-West Germanic *uʀ-, from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“up, out”). Cognate with Old Saxon ā-, English a-. Doublet of ur-. Compare the use of English up in various verb constructions to emphasize a result, such as rustle up, work up, etc.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "prefix",
        "cat2": "verbal prefixes"
      },
      "expansion": "er-",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "German",
  "lang_code": "de",
  "pos": "prefix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "46 27 26",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "German entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "48 26 26",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages using catfix",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "37 19 19 12 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 5 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "34 16 16 3 3 4 6 6 6 6",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "er- + wachsen (“to grow”) → erwachsen (“to arise”)",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Inseparable verbal prefix emphasizing a result of the action of the verb:",
        "Inseparable verbal prefix that indicates a successful conclusion, leads to the wanted result."
      ],
      "id": "en-er--de-prefix-yrdXIKmX",
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "er- + drücken (“to push, squeeze”) → erdrücken (“to squeeze dead”)",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "er- + frieren (“to freeze”) → erfrieren (“to freeze to death”)",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Inseparable verbal prefix emphasizing a result of the action of the verb:",
        "Inseparable verbal prefix that indicates killing or dying."
      ],
      "id": "en-er--de-prefix-IzPKaW1W",
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "er- + arbeiten (“to work”) → erarbeiten (“to gain something by means of working for it”)",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Inseparable verbal prefix emphasizing a result of the action of the verb:",
        "Inseparable verbal prefix that indicates getting something by some means, usually through conscious effort."
      ],
      "id": "en-er--de-prefix-xIDOGbzw",
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɛɐ̯/",
      "tags": [
        "standard"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ɛ/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ɐ/",
      "note": "common speech"
    },
    {
      "audio": "De-er-.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/07/De-er-.ogg/De-er-.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/De-er-.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "er-"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "German doublets",
    "German entries with incorrect language header",
    "German lemmas",
    "German prefixes",
    "German terms derived from Middle High German",
    "German terms derived from Old High German",
    "German terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
    "German terms derived from Proto-West Germanic",
    "German terms inherited from Middle High German",
    "German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic",
    "German verbal prefixes",
    "Pages using catfix",
    "Pages with 5 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "erbarmen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erbauen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erbeben"
    },
    {
      "word": "erbeten"
    },
    {
      "word": "erbetteln"
    },
    {
      "word": "erbeuten"
    },
    {
      "word": "erbieten"
    },
    {
      "word": "erbitten"
    },
    {
      "word": "erbohren"
    },
    {
      "word": "erborgen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erbrausen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erbrechen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erbrüten"
    },
    {
      "word": "erdichten"
    },
    {
      "word": "ereignen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erfahren"
    },
    {
      "word": "erfassen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erfechten"
    },
    {
      "word": "erfeilschen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erfinden"
    },
    {
      "word": "erfliegen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erfochten"
    },
    {
      "word": "erfolgen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erforschen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erfreuen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erfrieren"
    },
    {
      "word": "erfüllen"
    },
    {
      "word": "ergänzen"
    },
    {
      "word": "ergeben"
    },
    {
      "word": "ergehen"
    },
    {
      "word": "ergründen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erhalten"
    },
    {
      "word": "erhängen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erheben"
    },
    {
      "word": "erhellen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erhitzen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erhoffen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erhöhen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erholen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erinnern"
    },
    {
      "word": "erkälten"
    },
    {
      "word": "erkaufen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erkennen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erklären"
    },
    {
      "word": "erkranken"
    },
    {
      "word": "erlauben"
    },
    {
      "word": "erleben"
    },
    {
      "word": "erledigen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erleichtern"
    },
    {
      "word": "erleuchten"
    },
    {
      "word": "erlösen"
    },
    {
      "word": "ernähren"
    },
    {
      "word": "eröffnen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erpressen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erreichen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erschallen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erscheinen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erschießen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erschöpfen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erschrecken"
    },
    {
      "word": "erschweren"
    },
    {
      "word": "ersehnen"
    },
    {
      "word": "ersparen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erstaunen"
    },
    {
      "word": "ertragen"
    },
    {
      "word": "ertrinken"
    },
    {
      "word": "ertüfteln"
    },
    {
      "word": "erwähnen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erwarten"
    },
    {
      "word": "erwecken"
    },
    {
      "word": "erweisen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erweitern"
    },
    {
      "word": "erwerben"
    },
    {
      "word": "erzählen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erzeugen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erziehen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erzielen"
    },
    {
      "word": "erzittern"
    },
    {
      "word": "erzwingen"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
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      "args": {
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        "2": "gmh",
        "3": "gem-pro",
        "inh": "2"
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    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "gmh",
        "3": "er-"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German er-",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "goh",
        "3": "ir-"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German ir-",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
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        "3": "*uʀ-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *uʀ-",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*uz-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "up, out"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *uz- (“up, out”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "osx",
        "2": "ā-"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Saxon ā-",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "a-"
      },
      "expansion": "English a-",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "ur-"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of ur-",
      "name": "dbt"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "up"
      },
      "expansion": "English up",
      "name": "noncog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Middle High German er-, from Old High German ir-, from Proto-West Germanic *uʀ-, from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“up, out”). Cognate with Old Saxon ā-, English a-. Doublet of ur-. Compare the use of English up in various verb constructions to emphasize a result, such as rustle up, work up, etc.",
  "head_templates": [
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      "args": {
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        "cat2": "verbal prefixes"
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      "expansion": "er-",
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  ],
  "lang": "German",
  "lang_code": "de",
  "pos": "prefix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "er- + wachsen (“to grow”) → erwachsen (“to arise”)",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Inseparable verbal prefix emphasizing a result of the action of the verb:",
        "Inseparable verbal prefix that indicates a successful conclusion, leads to the wanted result."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "er- + drücken (“to push, squeeze”) → erdrücken (“to squeeze dead”)",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "er- + frieren (“to freeze”) → erfrieren (“to freeze to death”)",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Inseparable verbal prefix emphasizing a result of the action of the verb:",
        "Inseparable verbal prefix that indicates killing or dying."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "er- + arbeiten (“to work”) → erarbeiten (“to gain something by means of working for it”)",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Inseparable verbal prefix emphasizing a result of the action of the verb:",
        "Inseparable verbal prefix that indicates getting something by some means, usually through conscious effort."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɛɐ̯/",
      "tags": [
        "standard"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ɛ/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ɐ/",
      "note": "common speech"
    },
    {
      "audio": "De-er-.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/07/De-er-.ogg/De-er-.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/De-er-.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "er-"
}

Download raw JSONL data for er- meaning in German (5.0kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable German dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-02-08 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-02-01 using wiktextract (f492ef9 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.