saufenvssauterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,622
“saufen” frequency rank
#43,458
“sauter” frequency rank
53080
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature saufen sauter
Definition trinken springen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set saufen and sauter apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
saufen
6 ch
sauter

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. saufen ([ˈzaʊ̯fn̩]) and sauter ([sote]) 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 53080, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

saufen is recorded at frequency rank #9,622, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzaʊ̯fn̩]. sauter is at rank #43,458, tagged as averb, pronounced [sote].

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 53080, this pair ranks #1,071,842 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of saufen vs sauter

Shared letters: aesu. Private to "saufen": fn. Private to "sauter": rt.

"saufen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "sauter" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • saufenasufen · safuen · sauefn · saufenn · sauffen · saufne · ssaufen · suafen
  • sauterasuter · satuer · sauetr · sauterr · sautre · sautter · ssauter · suater

Frequency comparison

saufen#9,622
sauter#43,458

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "saufen" and "sauter" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzaʊ̯fn̩] versus [sote]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "saufen" or "sauter"?
"saufen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,622 in our German list, against #43,458 for "sauter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering saufen vs sauter

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “saufen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list