Which to use
“Verkäufer” is a noun and “verlaufe” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,438
- “Verkäufer” frequency rank
- #27,548
- “verlaufe” frequency rank
- 32986
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Verkäufer | verlaufe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemand, der etwas verkauft | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verlaufen |
Where the eye mixes Verkäufer and verlaufe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Verkäufer runs 9 letters (CVCCVVCVC) against verlaufe's 8 (CVCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Verkäufer vs verlaufe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Verkäufer is [fɛɐ̯ˈkɔɪ̯fɐ] while verlaufe is [fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯fə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32986, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Verkäufer is recorded at frequency rank #5,438, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkɔɪ̯fɐ]. 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 32986, this pair ranks #1,695,795 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Verkäufer vs verlaufe
Shared letters: efruv. Private to "Verkäufer": kä. Private to "verlaufe": al.
"Verkäufer" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC · "verlaufe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- verlaufe ← evrlaufe · velraufe · veralufe · verlafue · verlauef · verlauffe · verllaufe · verluafe
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Verkäufer" and "verlaufe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Verkäufer" or "verlaufe" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Verkäufer" 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 #1,695,795 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Verkäufer" 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 #1,695,795 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.