VerkaufvsVerkaufsWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,093
“Verkauf” frequency rank
#25,378
“Verkaufs” frequency rank
27471
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verkauf Verkaufs
Definition der Akt des Verkaufens Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Verkauf

Where the eye mixes Verkauf and Verkaufs

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Verkauf
8 ch
Verkaufs

Look-alike desk: Verkauf vs Verkaufs

A purely visual mix-up. Verkauf ([fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯f]) and Verkaufs ([fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fs]) 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) - “Verkauf” sits inside “Verkaufs”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27471, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Verkauf is recorded at frequency rank #2,093, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯f]. Verkaufs is at rank #25,378, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fs].

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 27471, this pair ranks #1,801,274 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Verkauf vs Verkaufs

Shared letters: aefkruv. Private to "Verkauf": -. Private to "Verkaufs": s.

"Verkauf" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC  ·  "Verkaufs" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Verkaufevrkauf · vekrauf · verakuf · verkafu · verkauff · verkkauf · verkuaf · verrkauf
  • Verkaufsevrkaufs · vekraufs · verakufs · verkafus · verkauffs · verkaufss · verkausf · verkkaufs

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Verkauf" for "Verkaufs" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯f] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Verkauf" vs "Verkaufs" - which ranks higher?
"Verkauf" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,093 in our German list, against #25,378 for "Verkaufs". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Verkauf" and "Verkaufs" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Verkauf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Verkaufs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,801,274 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Verkauf" and "Verkaufs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verkäufers vs Verkaufs". 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 #1,801,274 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