Which to use
“erkaufen” and “erkauft” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,297
- “erkaufen” frequency rank
- #35,749
- “erkauft” frequency rank
- 72046
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erkaufen | erkauft |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas durch Anstrengung oder Opfer erlangen | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erkaufen |
Where the eye mixes erkaufen and erkauft
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. erkaufen runs 8 letters (VCCVVCVC) against erkauft's 7 (VCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erkaufen and erkauft
A purely visual mix-up. erkaufen ([ɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]) and erkauft ([ɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯ft]) 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 72046, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erkaufen is recorded at frequency rank #36,297, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]. erkauft is at rank #35,749, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯ft].
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 72046, this pair ranks #399,386 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of erkaufen vs erkauft
Shared letters: aefkru. Private to "erkaufen": n. Private to "erkauft": t.
"erkaufen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC · "erkauft" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erkaufen" and "erkauft" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "erkaufen" or "erkauft"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erkaufen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erkauft" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #399,386 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erkaufen" and "erkauft" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einkauft 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 #399,386 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.