Which to use
“Kauf” is a noun and “kaufte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,668
- “Kauf” frequency rank
- #7,949
- “kaufte” frequency rank
- 9617
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kauf | kaufte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | der entgeltliche Erwerb einer Ware | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs kaufen |
Where the eye mixes Kauf and kaufte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Kauf vs kaufte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kauf is [kaʊ̯f] while kaufte is [ˈkaʊ̯ftə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Kauf” sits inside “kaufte”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9617, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kauf is recorded at frequency rank #1,668, classified as anoun, pronounced [kaʊ̯f]. kaufte is at rank #7,949, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkaʊ̯ftə].
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 9617, this pair ranks #1,979,104 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Kauf vs kaufte
Shared letters: afku. Private to "Kauf": -. Private to "kaufte": et.
"Kauf" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "kaufte" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Kauf" for "kaufte" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Kauf" or "kaufte" 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 "Kauf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kaufte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,979,104 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kauf" and "kaufte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kaufte 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 #1,979,104 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.