Which to use
“verkaufen” is a verb and “Verkäuferin” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,246
- “verkaufen” frequency rank
- #18,114
- “Verkäuferin” frequency rank
- 19360
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verkaufen | Verkäuferin |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen Gegenstand, eine Ware gegen Geld abgeben | weibliche Person, die etwas verkauft (hat) |
Where the eye mixes verkaufen and Verkäuferin
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verkaufen runs 9 letters (CVCCVVCVC) against Verkäuferin's 11 (CVCCVVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses verkaufen with Verkäuferin
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verkaufen is [fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fn̩] while Verkäuferin is [fɛɐ̯ˈkɔɪ̯fəʁɪn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19360, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verkaufen is recorded at frequency rank #1,246, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]. Verkäuferin is at rank #18,114, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkɔɪ̯fəʁɪn].
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 19360, this pair ranks #1,909,184 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verkaufen vs Verkäuferin
Shared letters: efknruv. Private to "verkaufen": a. Private to "Verkäuferin": iä.
"verkaufen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC · "Verkäuferin" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verkaufen ← evrkaufen · vekraufen · verakufen · verkafuen · verkauefn · verkaufenn · verkauffen · verkaufne
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verkaufen" and "Verkäuferin" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "verkaufen" or "Verkäuferin" show up more?
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 "verkaufen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Verkäuferin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,909,184 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verkaufen" and "Verkäuferin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verkäuferin vs Verkäufern". 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 #1,909,184 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.