Which to use
“Verkauf” is a noun and “verlaufe” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,093
- “Verkauf” frequency rank
- #27,548
- “verlaufe” frequency rank
- 29641
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Verkauf | verlaufe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | der Akt des Verkaufens | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verlaufen |
Where the eye mixes Verkauf and verlaufe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Verkauf runs 7 letters (CVCCVVC) against verlaufe's 8 (CVCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Verkauf and verlaufe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Verkauf is [fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯f] while verlaufe is [fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯fə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29641, 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]. verlaufe is at rank #27,548, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯fə].
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 29641, this pair ranks #1,763,060 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Verkauf vs verlaufe
Shared letters: aefruv. Private to "Verkauf": k. Private to "verlaufe": l.
"Verkauf" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "verlaufe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Verkauf" for "verlaufe" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Verkauf" vs "verlaufe" - which ranks higher?
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 "Verkauf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verlaufe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,763,060 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Verkauf" and "verlaufe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verlaufe vs verlauten". 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 #1,763,060 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.