Which to use
“kau” and “kaufe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,934
- “kau” frequency rank
- #5,388
- “kaufe” frequency rank
- 47322
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kau | kaufe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kauen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kaufen |
Where the eye mixes kau and kaufe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. kau runs 3 letters (CVV) against kaufe's 5 (CVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between kau and kaufe
A purely visual mix-up. kau ([kaʊ̯]) 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 differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “kau” sits inside “kaufe”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47322, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kau is recorded at frequency rank #41,934, classified as averb, pronounced [kaʊ̯]. 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 47322, this pair ranks #1,288,401 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kau vs kaufe
Shared letters: aku. Private to "kau": -. Private to "kaufe": ef.
"kau" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "kaufe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- kaufe ← akufe · kafue · kauef · kauffe · kkaufe · kuafe
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kau" for "kaufe" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "kau" or "kaufe" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "kau" 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 #1,288,401 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kau" and "kaufe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kau vs KGaA". 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 #1,288,401 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.