KäufernvsKoffernWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Käufern” and “Koffern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#36,468
“Käufern” frequency rank
#36,452
“Koffern” frequency rank
72920
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Käufern Koffern
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Käufer Dativ Plural des Substantivs Koffer

Where the eye mixes Käufern and Koffern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Käufern (CVVCVCC) and Koffern (CVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
Käufern
7 ch
Koffern

Why the eye confuses Käufern with Koffern

A purely visual mix-up. Käufern ([ˈkɔɪ̯fɐn]) and Koffern ([ˈkɔfɐn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72920, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Käufern is recorded at frequency rank #36,468, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɔɪ̯fɐn]. Koffern is at rank #36,452, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɔfɐn].

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 72920, this pair ranks #374,797 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Käufern vs Koffern

Shared letters: efknr. Private to "Käufern": . Private to "Koffern": o.

"Käufern" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC  ·  "Koffern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Koffernkfofern · kkoffern · kofefrn · kofern · koffenr · koffernn · kofferrn · koffren

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Käufern" for "Koffern" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɔɪ̯fɐn] versus [ˈkɔfɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Käufern" vs "Koffern" - which ranks higher?
"Koffern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,452 in our German list, against #36,468 for "Käufern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Käufern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Koffern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #374,797 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Käufern" and "Koffern" 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 #374,797 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list