Which to use
“kaufe” and “kaut” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,388
- “kaufe” frequency rank
- #46,771
- “kaut” frequency rank
- 52159
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kaufe | kaut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kaufen | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kauen |
Where the eye mixes kaufe and kaut
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. kaufe runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against kaut's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between kaufe and kaut
A purely visual mix-up. kaufe ([ˈkaʊ̯fə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52159, 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]. 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 52159, this pair ranks #1,107,797 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of kaufe vs kaut
Shared letters: aku. Private to "kaufe": ef. Private to "kaut": t.
"kaufe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "kaut" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "kaufe" for "kaut" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "kaufe" or "kaut" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "kaufe" 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 #1,107,797 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kaufe" 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 #1,107,797 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.