Which to use
“gekauften” is an adjective and “gelaufen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,530
- “gekauften” frequency rank
- #2,894
- “gelaufen” frequency rank
- 26424
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gekauften | gelaufen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gekauft | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs laufen |
Where the eye mixes gekauften and gelaufen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. gekauften runs 9 letters (CVCVVCCVC) against gelaufen's 8 (CVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses gekauften with gelaufen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gekauften is [ɡəˈkaʊ̯ftn̩] while gelaufen is [ɡəˈlaʊ̯fn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26424, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gekauften is recorded at frequency rank #23,530, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈkaʊ̯ftn̩]. gelaufen is at rank #2,894, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈlaʊ̯fn̩].
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 26424, this pair ranks #1,818,328 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gekauften vs gelaufen
Shared letters: aefgnu. Private to "gekauften": kt. Private to "gelaufen": l.
"gekauften" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC · "gelaufen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gekauften" and "gelaufen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "gekauften" vs "gelaufen" - which ranks higher?
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 "gekauften" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gelaufen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,818,328 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gekauften" and "gelaufen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gekauften vs geklauten". 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 #1,818,328 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.