Which to use
“kannte” and “kaufte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,899
- “kannte” frequency rank
- #7,949
- “kaufte” frequency rank
- 10848
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kannte | kaufte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs kennen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs kaufen |
Where the eye mixes kannte and kaufte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. kannte (CVCCCV) and kaufte (CVVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses kannte with kaufte
A purely visual mix-up. kannte ([ˈkantə]) and kaufte ([ˈkaʊ̯ftə]) 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 10848, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kannte is recorded at frequency rank #2,899, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkantə]. kaufte is at rank #7,949, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkaʊ̯ftə].
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 10848, this pair ranks #1,973,013 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kannte vs kaufte
Shared letters: aekt. Private to "kannte": n. Private to "kaufte": fu.
"kannte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "kaufte" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "kannte" and "kaufte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "kannte" or "kaufte" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "kannte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kaufte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,973,013 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kannte" and "kaufte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kaufte vs kaut". 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 #1,973,013 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.