Which to use
“kauen” and “kauften” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,394
- “kauen” frequency rank
- #18,595
- “kauften” frequency rank
- 40989
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kauen | kauften |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nahrung mit den Zähnen, durch wiederholtes Öffnen und Schließen der Kiefer, zerkleinern | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs kaufen |
Where the eye mixes kauen and kauften
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. kauen runs 5 letters (CVVVC) against kauften's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses kauen with kauften
A purely visual mix-up. kauen ([ˈkaʊ̯ən]) and kauften ([ˈkaʊ̯ftn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40989, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kauen is recorded at frequency rank #22,394, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkaʊ̯ən]. kauften is at rank #18,595, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkaʊ̯ftn̩].
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 40989, this pair ranks #1,492,482 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kauen vs kauften
Shared letters: aeknu. Private to "kauen": -. Private to "kauften": ft.
"kauen" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "kauften" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "kauen" and "kauften" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "kauen" vs "kauften" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "kauen" and "kauften" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "kauen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kauften" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,492,482 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kauen" and "kauften" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kauen vs kaut". 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 #1,492,482 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.