EinkaufvsEinlaufTell them apart

Which to use

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

#7,036
“Einkauf” frequency rank
#37,478
“Einlauf” frequency rank
44514
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Einkauf Einlauf
Definition das Erwerben von etwas gegen Geld Methode, bei der eine Flüssigkeit über den After in den Darm eingeleitet wird, um den Enddarm von Kot zu säubern

Where the eye mixes Einkauf and Einlauf

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Einkauf and Einlauf follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
Einkauf
7 ch
Einlauf

Look-alike desk: Einkauf vs Einlauf

A purely visual mix-up. Einkauf ([ˈaɪ̯nˌkaʊ̯f]) and Einlauf ([ˈaɪ̯nˌlaʊ̯f]) 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 a single letter - k in “Einkauf” becomes l in “Einlauf”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44514, 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]. Einlauf is at rank #37,478, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌlaʊ̯f].

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 44514, this pair ranks #1,383,761 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Einkauf vs Einlauf

Shared letters: aefinu. Private to "Einkauf": k. Private to "Einlauf": l.

"Einkauf" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVVC  ·  "Einlauf" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Einkauf ← eiknauf · einakuf · einkafu · einkauff · einkkauf · einkuaf · einnkauf · enikauf
  • Einlauf ← eilnauf · einaluf · einlafu · einlauff · einllauf · einluaf · einnlauf · enilauf

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Einkauf" and "Einlauf" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nˌkaʊ̯f] versus [ˈaɪ̯nˌlaʊ̯f]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Einkauf" or "Einlauf"?
"Einkauf" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,036 in our German list, against #37,478 for "Einlauf". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Einkauf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Einlauf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,383,761 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Einkauf" and "Einlauf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einkauft vs Einlauf". 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 #1,383,761 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