Which to use
“verkaufe” and “verlaufe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,481
- “verkaufe” frequency rank
- #27,548
- “verlaufe” frequency rank
- 34029
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verkaufe | verlaufe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verkaufen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verlaufen |
Where the eye mixes verkaufe and verlaufe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verkaufe and verlaufe follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses verkaufe with verlaufe
A purely visual mix-up. verkaufe ([fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fə]) and verlaufe ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯fə]) 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 a single letter - k in “verkaufe” becomes l in “verlaufe”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34029, 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]. 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 34029, this pair ranks #1,672,588 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verkaufe vs verlaufe
Shared letters: aefruv. Private to "verkaufe": k. Private to "verlaufe": l.
"verkaufe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV · "verlaufe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verkaufe" for "verlaufe" ever safe?
Which is more common, "verkaufe" or "verlaufe"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "verkaufe" and "verlaufe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verkaufe" 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 #1,672,588 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verkaufe" 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 #1,672,588 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.