Which to use
“gebaute” and “gekaufte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,253
- “gebaute” frequency rank
- #23,144
- “gekaufte” frequency rank
- 41397
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gebaute | gekaufte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gebaut | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gekauft |
Where the eye mixes gebaute and gekaufte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gebaute runs 7 letters (CVCVVCV) against gekaufte's 8 (CVCVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: gebaute vs gekaufte
A purely visual mix-up. gebaute ([ɡəˈbaʊ̯tə]) and gekaufte ([ɡəˈkaʊ̯ftə]) 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 41397, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gebaute is recorded at frequency rank #18,253, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈbaʊ̯tə]. gekaufte is at rank #23,144, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈkaʊ̯ftə].
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 41397, this pair ranks #1,480,697 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gebaute vs gekaufte
Shared letters: aegtu. Private to "gebaute": b. Private to "gekaufte": fk.
"gebaute" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV · "gekaufte" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gebaute" for "gekaufte" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "gebaute" or "gekaufte" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gebaute" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gekaufte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,480,697 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gebaute" and "gekaufte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gehäuft vs gekaufte". 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 #1,480,697 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.