VerkaufsvsVerlaufWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#25,378
“Verkaufs” frequency rank
#2,183
“Verlauf” frequency rank
27561
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verkaufs Verlauf
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Verkauf Abfolge von Geschehnissen oder Handlungen

Where the eye mixes Verkaufs and Verlauf

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Verkaufs runs 8 letters (CVCCVVCC) against Verlauf's 7 (CVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Verkaufs
7 ch
Verlauf

Look-alike desk: Verkaufs vs Verlauf

A purely visual mix-up. Verkaufs ([fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fs]) and Verlauf ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯f]) 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 27561, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Verkaufs is recorded at frequency rank #25,378, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fs]. Verlauf is at rank #2,183, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯f].

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 27561, this pair ranks #1,799,747 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Verkaufs vs Verlauf

Shared letters: aefruv. Private to "Verkaufs": ks. Private to "Verlauf": l.

"Verkaufs" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC  ·  "Verlauf" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Verkaufs ← evrkaufs · vekraufs · verakufs · verkafus · verkauffs · verkaufss · verkausf · verkkaufs
  • Verlauf ← evrlauf · velrauf · veraluf · verlafu · verlauff · verllauf · verluaf · verrlauf

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Verkaufs" for "Verlauf" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fs] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯f]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Verkaufs" vs "Verlauf" - which ranks higher?
"Verlauf" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,183 in our German list, against #25,378 for "Verkaufs". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Verkaufs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Verlauf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,799,747 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Verkaufs" and "Verlauf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verkäufers vs Verkaufs". 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 #1,799,747 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