verkauftvsVerlaufWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: verkauft is a adjective, Verlauf is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“verkauft” is an adjective and “Verlauf” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,143
“verkauft” frequency rank
#2,183
“Verlauf” frequency rank
3326
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verkauft Verlauf
Definition durch Verkauf den Besitzer gewechselt oder an den Kunden beziehungsweise Käufer vergeben Abfolge von Geschehnissen oder Handlungen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verkauft and Verlauf apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
verkauft
7 ch
Verlauf

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verkauft is [fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯ft] while Verlauf is [fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯f]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3326, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verkauft is recorded at frequency rank #1,143, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯ft]. 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 3326, this pair ranks #2,000,449 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verkauft vs Verlauf

Shared letters: aefruv. Private to "verkauft": kt. Private to "Verlauf": l.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verkauftevrkauft · vekrauft · verakuft · verkafut · verkaufft · verkauftt · verkautf · verkkauft
  • Verlaufevrlauf · velrauf · veraluf · verlafu · verlauff · verllauf · verluaf · verrlauf

Frequency comparison

verkauft#1,143
Verlauf#2,183

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verkauft" and "Verlauf" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verkauft" is an adjective and "Verlauf" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "verkauft" or "Verlauf"?
"verkauft" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,143 in our German list, against #2,183 for "Verlauf". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verkauft vs Verlauf

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “verkauft”; for a noun, it's “Verlauf”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verkauft” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list