Explanation of the prefix "er"

Question

I am finding verbs with the prefix "er" very hard to understand and remember the meaning of.

I understand how it works with verbs like ertrinken and ersticken (partly because I used erstochen once to tell a co-worker I had accidentally stabbed myself with a knife but actually said I had stabbed myself to death with a knife).

I also understand when it somehow corresponds to "re" in English like in erkennen and erzaehlen (in some sense re-tell).

Beyond this I find this prefix very hard to make sense of and almost all verbs beginning with "er" are problem verbs. For instance, I can't make sense of the difference between erfragen and fragen and between erkaufen and kaufen. I don't understand why erfinden means to invent when finden means to find and I don't understand why erdenken means to conceive when denken means to think (although I obviously see that in both situations they are connected concepts).

Can someone give me a guide to "er" and how it works with some groups of verbs?

I've searched for questions about the prefix "er" but couldn't find anything, but if I have just missed it please tell me.

Answer 1

The prefix "er" is mostly used for a process that will cause a certain state. This states might be finite (for example, "ertrinken" and "erstechen" as well als "erschießen" will leave you dead...) or momentary.

Some examples for verbs that describe a process leading to a finite state:

erhalten - becoming owner of something
erstellen - building something
erfahren - getting notice of something
erlösen - ending someone's pain
erledigen - finishing something

And some examples for verbs describing a process leading to a momentary state:

erinnern - reminding you of something, so your concentration moves there for the moment
ertragen - suffering from something

Sometimes "er" is used as a prefix in verbs that describe the change of something:

erwachen - waking up
erliegen - becoming unable to do something for some reason of dying of a disease
ermüden - in humans: becoming tired; in materials: becoming unreliable or breaking

In some cases, the prefix "er" changes a common verb with a similar meaning into another verb that describes a process, but in every day language the prefix is tightly coupled with the word is is being used with.

Comparison above verbs meanings without "er-":

halten - holding something
stellen - putting something at a certain place
fahren - driving somewhere
lösen - solving a problem
tragen - carrying something
wachen - being awake or keeping an eye on something
liegen - lying

"ledigen", "innern" and "müden" aren't valid words, they can't exist without "er".

Answer 2

We may get a clue on the purpose of the prefix er-, frequentliy used for conversion of verb-to-verb, noun-to-verb, or adjective-to-verb, when we look at the etymology or "er-" (loose translation by me):

The prefix er- is derived from a tonal weakening of the Old High German prefixes ur-, ar-, ir-, and er-, which mostly turned to er- in Middle High German. Sometimes the original prefixes are partly preserved, as seen in "Urlaub" vs. "erlauben", both having the same roots.

Originally, the Germanic prefix ur- was used for epressing "aus" (i.e. out of, from within, originating), which is still seen in "heraus". This prefix did not make its way into English. In contemporary German the meaning is weakend or partly lost.

We use the prefix er- for:

• Getting into a state (erröten. erwärmen, erzittern, erdenken)
• Beginning of something (erblühen, erglühen, erklingen, erfragen)
• Reaching of a result (erdrücken, ermorden, ertrinken, ersticken, erstochen)

Please note that these three categories are rather loose. The verbs in bold are those from the question. I tried to put them in one or the other category but with "erfragen" the appropriate category is not so clear; it could well be put in the last one (reaching a result) too.

Answer 3

All of these verbs have (in a wider or narrower meaning) a result, that is relevant. The result might be a state, an object or something else. [This is probably not the etymological root, but it works.]

Example verb → the relevant result → meaning of the verb

erkennen → image/knowledge → realize something / make out something

erzählen → story → tell a story

erkaufen → loss of currency → buy something by paying a currency

erhalten → conservation of a state → to conserve a state

erstellen → existencs of something → create something

erfahren → knowledge/experience → experience sth/get to know sth

erlösen → relevation of something painful → relieve of something painful

erledigen → state of getting rid of → get rid of something

erinnern → state of having in mind → remember (=sich erinnern) or remind (jemanden erinnern)

erwachen → awakenness → awaken

erliegen → defeat → getting defeated by something

ermüden → tiredness → get tired

erröten → red face → getting red in the face

erwärmen → warmness → getting warm

erzittern → state of shaking → shake/shaken

erdenken → thought → create a thought

erblühen → blossom → blossum

erglühen → red heat → to heat something to red heat (?correct English?)

erklingen → sound → to create a sound

erfragen → answer → to ask (a specific question)

erdrücken → result of pressure e.g. collapse/death → to pressure something to death / to collapse

ermorden → death → murder

ertrinken → death → drown (by oneself)

ertränken → death → drown somebody else / some living thing

ersticken → death → choke somebody / oneself to death

erstechen → death → stab somebody to death

For some verbs, the difference between the version with and without the prefix "er-" is the importance of the result:

erkaufen: The loss of some currency (not necessarily monetary) is important.

kaufen: Something is bought. The loss of the currency is not important.

Example: Er erkauft sich Erfolg durch weniger Freizeit. = He's "buying" success by "paying" with spare time.

erfragen: The result is important, which means, someone's asking for something specific.

fragen: to ask, perhaps specifically, perhaps unspecifically.

Example: Er fragt nach dem Weg zur Bahnhof. = Er erfragt den Weg zum Bahnhof. = He's asking for the way to the station. Example: Er fragt den Deutschlehrer. = He's asking the German teacher. BUT: Er erfagt den Deutschlehrer. = He's asking, who his German teacher is.

Of course, if you ask something, you want to get an answer. But there are other aspects of asking (who, when, where, for what reason). The verb "fragen" is used for any of these aspects. The verb "erfragen" is used, if the result is of specific importance.

Answer 4

Das verbale Präfix er- ist problematisch, weil es kein klares und eindeutiges Zentrum hat. Du wirst erkennen, dass einigen Verben klare Sinngruppen zugeordnet werden können, wie z. B. Aspekt des Beginnens (ertönen), Komparativ-Sinn (erwärmen für wärmer machen) und einige andere Gruppen. Viele Verben lassen sich aber schlecht einer Sinngruppe zuordnen und man muss sie einzeln erlernen wie z. B. erlauben.

Was ich im Internet dazu gesehen habe, ist anfängerisch, z. B. canoonet Link

Am besten, du machst deine eigenen Untersuchungen, das ist immer am interessantesten.

Nachtrag: Eine größere Gruppe von Verben mit er- entspricht lateinischen Verben mit re- (zurück, wieder).

Answer 5

In fact, the ambiguity is used in a pun I remember: "Es gibt drei Möglichkeiten, jemanden mit einem Vogel zu töten: erdrosseln, ergänzen und erstarren."

Answer 6

It's like in English:

ab- (abstain, abduct, abbreviate) there is no actual meaning in it, just learn it. in- (involve, intend, invent) for- (forgive, forget...