Which to use
“einkaufen” and “einkauft” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,722
- “einkaufen” frequency rank
- #45,884
- “einkauft” frequency rank
- 49606
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | einkaufen | einkauft |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gegenstände des täglichen Bedarfs erwerben | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs einkaufen |
Where the eye mixes einkaufen and einkauft
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. einkaufen runs 9 letters (VVCCVVCVC) against einkauft's 8 (VVCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses einkaufen with einkauft
A purely visual mix-up. einkaufen ([ˈaɪ̯nˌkaʊ̯fn̩]) and einkauft ([ˈaɪ̯nˌkaʊ̯ft]) 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 49606, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
einkaufen is recorded at frequency rank #3,722, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌkaʊ̯fn̩]. einkauft is at rank #45,884, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nˌkaʊ̯ft].
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 49606, this pair ranks #1,205,120 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of einkaufen vs einkauft
Shared letters: aefiknu. Private to "einkaufen": -. Private to "einkauft": t.
"einkaufen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVVCVC · "einkauft" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "einkaufen" and "einkauft" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "einkaufen" or "einkauft" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "einkaufen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "einkauft" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,205,120 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "einkaufen" and "einkauft" 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 #1,205,120 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.