abkaufenvsAbläufeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: abkaufen is a verb, Abläufe is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“abkaufen” is a verb and “Abläufe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,412
“abkaufen” frequency rank
#15,018
“Abläufe” frequency rank
46430
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abkaufen Abläufe
Definition von jemandem etwas privat oder gefälligkeitshalber kaufen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Ablauf

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abkaufen and Abläufe apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
abkaufen
7 ch
Abläufe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abkaufen is [ˈapˌkaʊ̯fn̩] while Abläufe is [ˈapˌlɔɪ̯fə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46430, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abkaufen is recorded at frequency rank #31,412, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌkaʊ̯fn̩]. Abläufe is at rank #15,018, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌlɔɪ̯fə].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 46430, this pair ranks #1,319,373 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abkaufen vs Abläufe

Shared letters: abefu. Private to "abkaufen": kn. Private to "Abläufe": .

"abkaufen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC  ·  "Abläufe" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abkaufenabakufen · abbkaufen · abkafuen · abkauefn · abkaufenn · abkauffen · abkaufne · abkkaufen

Frequency comparison

abkaufen#31,412
Abläufe#15,018

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abkaufen" and "Abläufe" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "abkaufen" is a verb and "Abläufe" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "abkaufen" or "Abläufe"?
"Abläufe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,018 in our German list, against #31,412 for "abkaufen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abkaufen vs Abläufe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “abkaufen”; for a noun, it's “Abläufe”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “abkaufen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list