Which to use
“abkaufen” and “abrufen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,412
- “abkaufen” frequency rank
- #19,110
- “abrufen” frequency rank
- 50522
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abkaufen | abrufen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von jemandem etwas privat oder gefälligkeitshalber kaufen | auf Daten zugreifen |
Where the eye mixes abkaufen and abrufen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abkaufen runs 8 letters (VCCVVCVC) against abrufen's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: abkaufen vs abrufen
A purely visual mix-up. abkaufen ([ˈapˌkaʊ̯fn̩]) and abrufen ([ˈapˌʁuːfn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50522, 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]. abrufen is at rank #19,110, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʁuːfn̩].
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 50522, this pair ranks #1,170,537 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abkaufen vs abrufen
Shared letters: abefnu. Private to "abkaufen": k. Private to "abrufen": r.
"abkaufen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC · "abrufen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abkaufen" and "abrufen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "abkaufen" or "abrufen"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "abkaufen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abrufen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,170,537 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abkaufen" and "abrufen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abkaufen vs absaugen". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,170,537 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.