Erlernung

Erlernung is a term that occasionally appears in German-language texts as a potential nominalization related to learning. It is not part of standard German dictionaries and is generally regarded as nonstandard. The standard noun for the act of acquiring knowledge or a skill is das Erlernen, or more broadly das Lernen for the general act of learning. The verb erlernen means to learn or to acquire a skill, typically through instruction or practice; its proper nominal form is das Erlernen. The form Erlernung would be formed by attaching the -ung suffix to a presumed stem erler-, but this is not the conventional derivation and is rarely, if ever, used in authoritative writing. Consequently, Erlernung can appear as a typographical error, a misspelling, or a deliberate stylistic choice in creative works or informal communication.

In practice, if one intends to refer to the process of acquiring a skill in German, one should use Erlernen or Lernen depending on context. A phrase such as Das Erlernen eines Instruments is idiomatic; Die Erlernung eines Instruments would be nonstandard. Some learners may encounter Erlernung in bilingual texts or translations where the translator misapplies German word-formation rules.

See also: Erlernen, Lernen, Ausbildung, Bildung.