erfunden
made-up
Not corresponding to the truth; made up and not real.
EXAMPLE
Seine Ausrede, warum er zu spät kam, war offensichtlich frei erfunden.
His excuse for why he was late was obviously completely made up.
erfunden
invented / made-up
Checking...
Loading your saved state.
Meanings
Usage tips
Word family
'Erfunden' (invented/made-up) is the past participle of the verb 'erfinden' (to invent). It is used as an adjective to describe that something is not genuine, but made up.
EXAMPLE
Die Figur des Sherlock Holmes wurde von Arthur Conan Doyle erfunden.
The character of Sherlock Holmes was invented by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Typical combinations
The adjective is often used for things that can be told or made up, such as 'eine erfundene Geschichte' (a made-up story), 'eine erfundene Ausrede' (a made-up excuse), or 'ein erfundener Name' (a made-up name).
EXAMPLE
Er erzählte eine erfundene Geschichte, um seine Verspätung zu erklären.
He told a made-up story to explain his delay.
Fixed expression
A very common combination is 'frei erfunden' (completely made up). This emphasizes that something is entirely invented and has no basis in truth.
EXAMPLE
Die Gerüchte über ihn sind komplett frei erfunden.
The rumors about him are completely made up.
Compare with
erfunden vs fiktiv
fictional
Fiktiv and erfunden both refer to something that is not real. Fiktiv mainly describes the unreal status of a character, world, or story, while erfunden emphasizes more strongly the process of thinking something up. Fiktiv often fits a factual description, while erfunden is more suitable when focusing on how something came into existence.
erfunden
Die Autorin hat die Stadt für ihren Roman erfunden.
The author invented the city for her novel.
fiktiv
Die fiktive Figur lebt in einer Stadt, die es nicht gibt.
The fictional character lives in a city that does not exist.
In real life
Loading video examples...