Which to use
“kau” and “kauft” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,934
- “kau” frequency rank
- #3,536
- “kauft” frequency rank
- 45470
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kau | kauft |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kauen | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kaufen |
Where the eye mixes kau and kauft
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. kau runs 3 letters (CVV) against kauft's 5 (CVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between kau and kauft
A purely visual mix-up. kau ([kaʊ̯]) and kauft ([kaʊ̯ft]) 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 “kauft”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45470, 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]. kauft is at rank #3,536, tagged as averb, pronounced [kaʊ̯ft].
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 45470, this pair ranks #1,351,908 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kau vs kauft
Shared letters: aku. Private to "kau": -. Private to "kauft": ft.
"kau" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "kauft" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- kauft ← akuft · kafut · kaufft · kauftt · kautf · kkauft · kuaft
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "kau" and "kauft" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "kau" or "kauft" show up more?
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 "kau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kauft" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,351,908 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kau" and "kauft" 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 #1,351,908 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.