Was ist der unterschied zwischen erlebnis und erfahrung

When I first thought about this, I found that a little funny myself. However, we’re not THAT obsessed with our cars after all. Because the verb fahren, which is by the way related to the English word fare, is of course older than cars and originally it was used for all sorts of travel. So

Ich fahre nach Berlin.
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used to mean

I travel/go to Berlin.

This old meaning is still visible in quite a few idiomatic expressions.

Fahr zur Hölle!
Go to hell!
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Morgen ist Christi Himmelfahrt.
Tomorrow is Ascension Day.
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Of course Jesus didn’t “drive” up to heaven. He just levitated… and which car would Jesus drive anyway… probably a Christler… buahahahahahah… uh… sorry.
Here are some more examples for the old fahren.

Das ist zum aus der Haut fahren.
That make me want to jump put of my skin (that can drive you up the walls).
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Ich kaufe nur Aktien von Firmen, die ich verstehe… und ich bin bisher immer gut damit gefahren.
I only buy stock from farms.. uh… firms that I understand… and I have always done well that way/made good experiences.
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All right. So fahren used to be a general word for travelling. And what do you get from travelling? Experience. And that’s how the German wo… what?….oh… oh… the er-prefix… oh it’s NOT clear? Oh, that’s a surprise… so… without getting into it too deep the er-prefix kind of expresses the idea of reaching something through a process. In fact, the word Erfahrung comes from a verb erfahren. This used to mean “to reach or get something by travelling”… and back then it could also be used for, say, cities.

Ich habe Berlin “erfahren“.
I traveled Berlin.
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Now… this really isn’t that far from

I experienced Berlin.

People soon started using erfahren mainly for abstract things and the travelling aspect paled into oblivion. And so the verb changed to something like to learn / to get to know and further on to to experience… and that’s where the noun die Erfahrung comes from. English experience was kind of the knowledge you gain when you leave your village, German Erfahrung originally was stuff you learn while travelling…. somewhat similar ideas after all :).
Now, before we wrap this up by looking at some handy uses of Erfahrung let’s talk about the verb erfahren a little more. Because it changed its meaning again. The main meaning of erfahren today is to find out something by reading or hearing about it. It is like the English to learn… but not to learn as in sit down and study. It is the to learn as in “it was brought to my attention”… let’s maybe do examples

Maria hat gestern erfahren, dass Thomas sie betrogen hat.
Maria learned/was told yesterday, that Thomas cheated on her.
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Erst ganz am Ende des Krimis erfährt man, wer der Täter ist.
It is only at the very end of the crime story that we learn/find out who has done it.
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Now… does erfahren also mean to experience? The answer is “jein” as we say in German. Erleben is often the better choice.

Ich habe erlebt, was es heißt, kein Geld zu haben.
I have experienced what it means to have no money.
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Technically, erfahren can be used that way too but it sounds somewhat big… I don’t know how else to say it.

Maria hat viel Leid erfahren.
Maria has experienced a lot of suffering (lit.)
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The point is that erfahren will always have this other meaning of to learn/to hear.

Ich habe erfahren was Rassismus ist.
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This could mean 2 things

I have experienced what racism is/means.
I have learned/been told what racism is.

Erleben is just less ambiguous. And while we’re at it… even the experience is sometimes translated using erleben… when it is about the look and feel of something.

Jetzt Kaffee umsonst – für das ultimative Einkaufserlebnis.
Now coffee for free – for the ultimate shopping experience.
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User experience matters.
Das Erlebnis für den Nutzer ist wichtig.
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But let’s get back to Erfahrung. And with a few exceptions it is straight up experience.

You need a lot of experience for that.
Dafür braucht man viel Erfahrung.
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What’s really handy to know is that in German you either machen or sammeln Erfahrung, that is you collect it…. you don’t gain or get it.

Ich habe damit gute Erfahrungen gemacht.
I’ve made good experiences with that.
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Während meines Studiums konnte ich schon viel praktische Erfahrung sammeln.
During my studies I could gain a lot of practical experience.
(I used to translate this “schon” with “already” but it doesn’t work and best remains untranslated here.. for more check out this comment)
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I don’t know if this is the proper way to say it in English. Probably not. But in German this is how billions of applications are worded. Another thing that is good to know is the preposition… again, I am not sure about English but in German it is either in or mit…. in for actions, mit for things (works for actions too)

Ich habe viel Erfahrung mit Wildpferden.
I have a lot of experience with wild horses.
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Ich habe viel Erfahrung darin, mich um Wildpferde zu kümmern.
I have a lot of experience in taking care of wild horses.
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The experience in these example will be interpreted as knowing a lot… not as “I have been kicked and bitten thousands of times”. Or at least that is how the German sounds… I don’t know for English. I suck.
Anyway… I have to go to the prairie in a little bit so we’ll have to finish soon. But let’s look at 2 related words. Of course we have an adjective for experienced and to confuse everyone it looks just like the verb…. erfahren.