gekauftvsgeprüftWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“gekauft” and “geprüft” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,451
“gekauft” frequency rank
#4,120
“geprüft” frequency rank
5571
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gekauft geprüft
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs kaufen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs prüfen

Where the eye mixes gekauft and geprüft

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. gekauft (CVCVVCC) and geprüft (CVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
gekauft
7 ch
geprüft

Visual trap between gekauft and geprüft

A purely visual mix-up. gekauft ([ɡəˈkaʊ̯ft]) and geprüft ([ɡəˈpʁyːft]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5571, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gekauft is recorded at frequency rank #1,451, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈkaʊ̯ft]. geprüft is at rank #4,120, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈpʁyːft].

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 5571, this pair ranks #1,994,366 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gekauft vs geprüft

Shared letters: efgt. Private to "gekauft": aku. Private to "geprüft": prü.

"gekauft" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC  ·  "geprüft" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gekauft ← egkauft · geakuft · gekafut · gekaufft · gekauftt · gekautf · gekkauft · gekuaft

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gekauft" and "geprüft" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈkaʊ̯ft] versus [ɡəˈpʁyːft]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gekauft" vs "geprüft" - which ranks higher?
"gekauft" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,451 in our German list, against #4,120 for "geprüft". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gekauft" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "geprüft" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,994,366 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gekauft" and "geprüft" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gekauft vs gerafft". 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 #1,994,366 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list