Which to use
“verkauften” is an adjective and “verlaufen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,347
- “verkauften” frequency rank
- #5,126
- “verlaufen” frequency rank
- 16473
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verkauften | verlaufen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs verkauft | irgendwohin gehen und sich dabei verirren |
Where the eye mixes verkauften and verlaufen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verkauften runs 10 letters (CVCCVVCCVC) against verlaufen's 9 (CVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: verkauften vs verlaufen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verkauften is [fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯ftn̩] while verlaufen is [fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯fn̩]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16473, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verkauften is recorded at frequency rank #11,347, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkaʊ̯ftn̩]. verlaufen is at rank #5,126, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯fn̩].
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 16473, this pair ranks #1,935,558 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verkauften vs verlaufen
Shared letters: aefnruv. Private to "verkauften": kt. Private to "verlaufen": l.
"verkauften" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCCVC · "verlaufen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verkauften ← evrkauften · vekrauften · verakuften · verkafuten · verkaufetn · verkaufften · verkauftenn · verkauftne
- verlaufen ← evrlaufen · velraufen · veralufen · verlafuen · verlauefn · verlaufenn · verlauffen · verlaufne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verkauften" and "verlaufen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "verkauften" or "verlaufen"?
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 "verkauften" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verlaufen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,935,558 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verkauften" and "verlaufen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verkäufern vs verkauften". 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 #1,935,558 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.