Which to use
“karge” and “kaufe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,815
- “karge” frequency rank
- #5,388
- “kaufe” frequency rank
- 55203
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | karge | kaufe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kargen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kaufen |
Where the eye mixes karge and kaufe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. karge (CVCCV) and kaufe (CVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between karge and kaufe
A purely visual mix-up. karge ([ˈkaʁɡə]) and kaufe ([ˈkaʊ̯fə]) 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 55203, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
karge is recorded at frequency rank #49,815, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkaʁɡə]. kaufe is at rank #5,388, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkaʊ̯fə].
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 55203, this pair ranks #988,713 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of karge vs kaufe
Shared letters: aek. Private to "karge": gr. Private to "kaufe": fu.
"karge" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "kaufe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "karge" for "kaufe" ever safe?
Which is more common, "karge" or "kaufe"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "karge" and "kaufe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "karge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kaufe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #988,713 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "karge" and "kaufe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "karge vs Kartei". 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 #988,713 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.