Which to use
“erkämpfen” and “erkaufen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,535
- “erkämpfen” frequency rank
- #36,297
- “erkaufen” frequency rank
- 66832
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erkämpfen | erkaufen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch Anstrengung gewinnen | etwas durch Anstrengung oder Opfer erlangen |
Where the eye mixes erkämpfen and erkaufen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erkämpfen runs 9 letters (VCCVCCCVC) against erkaufen's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erkämpfen and erkaufen
A purely visual mix-up. erkämpfen ([ɛɐ̯ˈkɛmp͡fn̩]) and erkaufen ([ɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]) 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 66832, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erkämpfen is recorded at frequency rank #30,535, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛmp͡fn̩]. erkaufen is at rank #36,297, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fn̩].
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 66832, this pair ranks #560,007 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erkämpfen vs erkaufen
Shared letters: efknr. Private to "erkämpfen": mpä. Private to "erkaufen": au.
"erkämpfen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC · "erkaufen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erkaufen ← ekraufen · erakufen · erkafuen · erkauefn · erkaufenn · erkauffen · erkaufne · erkkaufen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erkämpfen" and "erkaufen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "erkämpfen" or "erkaufen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erkämpfen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erkaufen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #560,007 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erkämpfen" and "erkaufen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erkaufen vs erkauft". 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 #560,007 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.