kaufen

/[ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]/ verb

Letters

6 characters

Frequency Rank

#635

in German word usage

Misspellings

8

tracked variants

Confusables

20

similar word pairs

kaufen is aGermanverb. It means: Ware gegen Entgelt erwerben Pronounced [ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]. It ranks #635 in German word frequency. Often confused with kauft and Küken.

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

Frequency rank visualization

Position of kaufen in German word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for kaufen is 6 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈkaʊ̯fn̩]. Corpus data places it at rank #635 in overall German word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 8 documented wrong-spelling variants for kaufen, with forms such as "akufen", "kafuen", and "kauefn". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, 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, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

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 kaufen, spelled 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
    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

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: akufen,kafuen,kauefn,kaufenn,kauffen,kaufne,kkaufen,kuafen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for kaufen

Misspelling Variants of "kaufen"

akufen6kafuen6kauefn6kaufenn7kauffen7kaufne6kkaufen7kuafen6
Misspelling Variants of "kaufen"

Frequency rank: #635 in German

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.

Nearby German words

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

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.