die Katze im Sack kaufen

[diː ˈkat͡sə ɪm ˈzak ˌkaʊ̯fn̩]

/[diː ˈkat͡sə ɪm ˈzak ˌkaʊ̯fn̩]/ phrase

The verdict

“die Katze im Sack kaufen” is outside the top-ranked German vocabulary, used as a phrase - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
24
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - etwas erwerben, ohne es vorher zu prüfen

Key facts for die Katze im Sack kaufen
PropertyValue
Headworddie Katze im Sack kaufen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[diː ˈkat͡sə ɪm ˈzak ˌkaʊ̯fn̩]
Letters24
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “die Katze im Sack kaufen” sits in German frequency

die Katze im Sack kaufen falls outside the top-100,000 ranked German words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for die Katze im Sack kaufen is 24 letters long, classified as a phrase, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [diː ˈkat͡sə ɪm ˈzak ˌkaʊ̯fn̩]. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for die Katze im Sack kaufen in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is die Katze im Sack kaufen, spelled D-I-E- -K-A-T-Z-E- -I-M- -S-A-C-K- -K-A-U-F-E-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    etwas erwerben, ohne es vorher zu prüfen
  2. 2
    sich auf etwas Unbekanntes einlassen

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:

PlainSpell, “die Katze im Sack kaufen, German word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/de/wort/die-katze-im-sack-kaufen

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "die Katze im Sack kaufen"?
"die Katze im Sack kaufen" is spelled D-I-E- -K-A-T-Z-E- -I-M- -S-A-C-K- -K-A-U-F-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [diː ˈkat͡sə ɪm ˈzak ˌkaʊ̯fn̩].
What does "die Katze im Sack kaufen" mean?
As a phrase, "die Katze im Sack kaufen" means: etwas erwerben, ohne es vorher zu prüfen
How do you pronounce "die Katze im Sack kaufen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "die Katze im Sack kaufen" is [diː ˈkat͡sə ɪm ˈzak ˌkaʊ̯fn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "die Katze im Sack kaufen" come from?
"die Katze im Sack kaufen" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “die Katze im Sack kaufen”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is D-I-E- -K-A-T-Z-E- -I-M- -S-A-C-K- -K-A-U-F-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [diː ˈkat͡sə ɪm ˈzak ˌkaʊ̯fn̩] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter D in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list