Which to use
“kaufe” is a verb and “Käufern” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,388
- “kaufe” frequency rank
- #36,468
- “Käufern” frequency rank
- 41856
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kaufe | Käufern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kaufen | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Käufer |
Where the eye mixes kaufe and Käufern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. kaufe runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against Käufern's 7 (CVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between kaufe and Käufern
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kaufe is [ˈkaʊ̯fə] while Käufern is [ˈkɔɪ̯fɐn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41856, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kaufe is recorded at frequency rank #5,388, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkaʊ̯fə]. Käufern is at rank #36,468, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɔɪ̯fɐn].
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 41856, this pair ranks #1,466,995 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kaufe vs Käufern
Shared letters: efku. Private to "kaufe": a. Private to "Käufern": nrä.
"kaufe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "Käufern" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- kaufe ← akufe · kafue · kauef · kauffe · kkaufe · kuafe
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "kaufe" and "Käufern" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "kaufe" or "Käufern" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "kaufe" and "Käufern" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "kaufe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Käufern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,466,995 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kaufe" and "Käufern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Käufern vs Käufers". 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 #1,466,995 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.