verkaufenvsverkaufstConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,246
“verkaufen” frequency rank
#29,395
“verkaufst” frequency rank
30641
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verkaufen verkaufst
Definition einen Gegenstand, eine Ware gegen Geld abgeben 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verkaufen

Where the eye mixes verkaufen and verkaufst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verkaufen (CVCCVVCVC) and verkaufst (CVCCVVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

9 ch
verkaufen
9 ch
verkaufst

Look-alike desk: verkaufen vs verkaufst

A purely visual mix-up. verkaufen ([fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]) and verkaufst ([fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fst]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30641, 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]. verkaufst is at rank #29,395, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fst].

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 30641, this pair ranks #1,743,900 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verkaufen vs verkaufst

Shared letters: aefkruv. Private to "verkaufen": n. Private to "verkaufst": st.

"verkaufen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC  ·  "verkaufst" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verkaufenevrkaufen · vekraufen · verakufen · verkafuen · verkauefn · verkaufenn · verkauffen · verkaufne
  • verkaufstevrkaufst · vekraufst · verakufst · verkafust · verkauffst · verkaufsst · verkaufstt · verkaufts

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "verkaufen" and "verkaufst" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verkaufen" or "verkaufst"?
"verkaufen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,246 in our German list, against #29,395 for "verkaufst". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verkaufen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verkaufst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,743,900 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verkaufen" and "verkaufst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verkaufs vs verkaufst". 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 #1,743,900 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