kau vs kauft, What's the Difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kau and kauft apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

kau

5 ch

kauft

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

kau#41,934

kauft#3,536

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kau" and "kauft" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([kaʊ̯] versus [kaʊ̯ft]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "kau" or "kauft"?

"kauft" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,536 in our German list, against #41,934 for "kau". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering kau vs kauft

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kau” entry
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