Which to use
“Verkaufs” is a noun and “verlaufe” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,378
- “Verkaufs” frequency rank
- #27,548
- “verlaufe” frequency rank
- 52926
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Verkaufs | verlaufe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Verkauf | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verlaufen |
Where the eye mixes Verkaufs and verlaufe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Verkaufs (CVCCVVCC) and verlaufe (CVCCVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses Verkaufs with verlaufe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Verkaufs is [fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯fs] while verlaufe is [fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯fə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52926, 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]. 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 52926, this pair ranks #1,077,909 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Verkaufs vs verlaufe
Shared letters: aefruv. Private to "Verkaufs": ks. Private to "verlaufe": l.
"Verkaufs" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC · "verlaufe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Verkaufs" for "verlaufe" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Verkaufs" vs "verlaufe" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Verkaufs" 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 #1,077,909 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Verkaufs" and "verlaufe" 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 #1,077,909 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.