EinkaufvsEinkäufeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Einkauf” and “Einkäufe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,036
“Einkauf” frequency rank
#16,971
“Einkäufe” frequency rank
24007
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Einkauf Einkäufe
Definition das Erwerben von etwas gegen Geld Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Einkauf

Where the eye mixes Einkauf and Einkäufe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Einkauf
8 ch
Einkäufe

Look-alike desk: Einkauf vs Einkäufe

A purely visual mix-up. Einkauf ([ˈaɪ̯nˌkaʊ̯f]) and Einkäufe ([ˈaɪ̯nˌkɔɪ̯fə]) 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 24007, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Einkauf is recorded at frequency rank #7,036, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌkaʊ̯f]. Einkäufe is at rank #16,971, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌkɔɪ̯fə].

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 24007, this pair ranks #1,853,566 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Einkauf vs Einkäufe

Shared letters: efiknu. Private to "Einkauf": a. Private to "Einkäufe": ä.

"Einkauf" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVVC  ·  "Einkäufe" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Einkaufeiknauf · einakuf · einkafu · einkauff · einkkauf · einkuaf · einnkauf · enikauf

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Einkauf" and "Einkäufe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nˌkaʊ̯f] versus [ˈaɪ̯nˌkɔɪ̯fə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Einkauf" vs "Einkäufe" - which ranks higher?
"Einkauf" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,036 in our German list, against #16,971 for "Einkäufe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Einkauf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Einkäufe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,853,566 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Einkauf" and "Einkäufe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Einkäufe vs einkauft". 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 #1,853,566 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list