Which to use
“verkaufen” and “verlaufe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,246
- “verkaufen” frequency rank
- #27,548
- “verlaufe” frequency rank
- 28794
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verkaufen | verlaufe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen Gegenstand, eine Ware gegen Geld abgeben | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verlaufen |
Where the eye mixes verkaufen and verlaufe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between verkaufen and verlaufe
A purely visual mix-up. verkaufen ([fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28794, 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]. 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 28794, this pair ranks #1,778,464 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verkaufen vs verlaufe
Shared letters: aefruv. Private to "verkaufen": kn. Private to "verlaufe": l.
"verkaufen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC · "verlaufe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verkaufen" for "verlaufe" ever safe?
Frequency check: "verkaufen" 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 "verkaufen" 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 #1,778,464 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verkaufen" 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 #1,778,464 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.