Which to use
“kaufte” and “kauften” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,949
- “kaufte” frequency rank
- #18,595
- “kauften” frequency rank
- 26544
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kaufte | kauften |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs kaufen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs kaufen |
Where the eye mixes kaufte and kauften
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. kaufte runs 6 letters (CVVCCV) against kauften's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: kaufte vs kauften
A purely visual mix-up. kaufte ([ˈkaʊ̯ftə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “kaufte” sits inside “kauften”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26544, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kaufte is recorded at frequency rank #7,949, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkaʊ̯ftə]. 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 26544, this pair ranks #1,816,406 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kaufte vs kauften
Shared letters: aefktu. Private to "kaufte": -. Private to "kauften": n.
"kaufte" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "kauften" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "kaufte" and "kauften" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "kaufte" vs "kauften" - which ranks higher?
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 "kaufte" 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 #1,816,406 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kaufte" and "kauften" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kauften vs kürten". 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 #1,816,406 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.