kaputt
[kaˈpʊt]
The verdict
“kaputt” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #2,253 in German word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #2,253
- frequency rank, German
- 6
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 8
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - in einem schadhaften oder funktionslosen Zustand
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | kaputt |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | [kaˈpʊt] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #2,253 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 8 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “kaputt” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for kaputt is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [kaˈpʊt]. Corpus data places it at rank #2,253 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for kaputt, with forms such as "akputt", "kapputt", and "kaptut". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "kaut", "kauft", "Kapuze", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is kaputt, spelled K-A-P-U-T-T.
Definition
- 1in einem schadhaften oder funktionslosen Zustand
- 2körperlich oder seelisch erschöpft
- 3menschlich am Ende; wirtschaftlich ruiniert
- 4völlig zerrüttet, zerstört
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: akputt,kapputt,kaptut,kaput,kauptt,kkaputt,kpautt
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of kaputt - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “kaputt”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is K-A-P-U-T-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [kaˈpʊt] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “kaut” - see the side-by-side comparison. kaputt vs kaut
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
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.