Which to use
“erkauft” and “erlaubt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,749
- “erkauft” frequency rank
- #1,590
- “erlaubt” frequency rank
- 37339
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erkauft | erlaubt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs erkaufen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erlauben |
Where the eye mixes erkauft and erlaubt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erkauft and erlaubt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: erkauft vs erlaubt
A purely visual mix-up. erkauft ([ɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯ft]) and erlaubt ([ɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯pt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37339, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erkauft is recorded at frequency rank #35,749, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯ft]. erlaubt is at rank #1,590, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯pt].
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 37339, this pair ranks #1,592,809 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erkauft vs erlaubt
Shared letters: aertu. Private to "erkauft": fk. Private to "erlaubt": bl.
"erkauft" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCC · "erlaubt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erkauft" for "erlaubt" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "erkauft" or "erlaubt" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erkauft" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erlaubt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,592,809 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erkauft" and "erlaubt" 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 #1,592,809 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.