kaufen

[ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]

/[ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“kaufen” has 8 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #635. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#635
frequency rank, German
4,158
“K” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Ware gegen Entgelt erwerben

Corpus desk

Index DE-kaufen · kaufen · German

kaufen · rank #635 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #635
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,158
  • PHOTO-FINISH führen

Nearest frequency peer: führen (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „kaufen“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „kaufen“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

kaufen vs kauft
67% similar
kaufen vs Küken
33% similar
kaufen vs Kühen
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for kaufen
PropertyValue
Headwordkaufen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]
Letters6
Frequency rank#635
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „kaufen“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).kaufenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „führen“ (#634), „lernen“ (#636), „ebenso“ (#633). Unter 4,158 „K“-Lemmata liegt „kaufen“ bei #635. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around kaufen (IPA [ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #635 among 4,158 “K” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for kaufen, with forms such as "akufen", "kafuen", and "kauefn". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "kauft", "Küken", "Kühen", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is kaufen, spelled K-A-U-F-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ware gegen Entgelt erwerben
  2. 2
    ein Verpflichtungsgeschäft zum Erwerb eines Gegenstands eingehen, das von dem Erfüllungsgeschäft (Übertragung des Eigentums) zu unterscheiden ist.
  3. 3
    eine Person unter Druck setzen, ernsthaft mit ihr diskutieren
  4. 4
    eine Person bestechen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how kaufen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Wenn ich einmal groß bin, kaufe ich mir ein Auto.
  2. „Alltägliche Nahrungsmittel, die Impfstoffe oder andere medizinisch wirksame Zusatzstoffe enthalten, gibt es zwar noch nicht zu kaufen, sie sind aber schon Gegenstand der Forschung.“

Synonyms

anschaffenerstehenerwerbenin die Mangel nehmenvorknöpfenbestechen

Antonyms

stehlenverkaufen

This word in other languages

buy(English)comprar(Español)acheter(Français)comprar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • akufen
  • kafuen
  • kauefn
  • kaufenn
  • kauffen
  • kaufne
  • kkaufen
  • kuafen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of kaufen - 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.

akufen2kafuen2kauefn2kaufenn1kauffen1kaufne2kkaufen1kuafen2
Edit distance from "kaufen"

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

How do you spell "kaufen"?
"kaufen" is spelled K-A-U-F-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈkaʊ̯fn̩].
What does "kaufen" mean?
As a verb, "kaufen" means: Ware gegen Entgelt erwerben
What words are commonly confused with "kaufen"?
"kaufen" is commonly confused with "kauft", "Küken", "Kühen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "kaufen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kaufen" is [ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "kaufen" come from?
"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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "kaufen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

führen#634lernen#636ebenso#633deinen#632

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Blick8 variantsSeiten8 variantsvorbei8 variantswillst8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list