Which to use
“kau” and “kaut” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,934
- “kau” frequency rank
- #46,771
- “kaut” frequency rank
- 88705
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kau | kaut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kauen | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kauen |
Where the eye mixes kau and kaut
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. kau runs 3 letters (CVV) against kaut's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses kau with kaut
A purely visual mix-up. kau ([kaʊ̯]) and kaut ([kaʊ̯t]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “kau” sits inside “kaut”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 88705, 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]. kaut is at rank #46,771, tagged as averb, pronounced [kaʊ̯t].
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 88705, this pair ranks #65,374 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of kau vs kaut
Shared letters: aku. Private to "kau": -. Private to "kaut": t.
"kau" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "kaut" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- kaut ← katu · kautt · kkaut · kuat
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "kau" and "kaut" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "kau" vs "kaut" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "kau" and "kaut" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "kau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kaut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #65,374 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kau" and "kaut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kaut vs kräht". 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 #65,374 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.