verkaufevsverkaufenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,481
“verkaufe” frequency rank
#1,246
“verkaufen” frequency rank
7727
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verkaufe verkaufen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verkaufen einen Gegenstand, eine Ware gegen Geld abgeben

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verkaufe and verkaufen apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
verkaufe
9 ch
verkaufen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. verkaufe ([fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fə]) and verkaufen ([fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]) 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) - “verkaufe” sits inside “verkaufen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7727, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verkaufe is recorded at frequency rank #6,481, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fə]. verkaufen is at rank #1,246, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fn̩].

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 7727, this pair ranks #1,987,121 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verkaufe vs verkaufen

Shared letters: aefkruv. Private to "verkaufe": -. Private to "verkaufen": n.

"verkaufe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV  ·  "verkaufen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verkaufeevrkaufe · vekraufe · verakufe · verkafue · verkauef · verkauffe · verkkaufe · verkuafe
  • verkaufenevrkaufen · vekraufen · verakufen · verkafuen · verkauefn · verkaufenn · verkauffen · verkaufne

Frequency comparison

verkaufe#6,481
verkaufen#1,246

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verkaufe" and "verkaufen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fə] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verkaufe" or "verkaufen"?
"verkaufen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,246 in our German list, against #6,481 for "verkaufe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verkaufe vs verkaufen

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 “verkaufe” 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