RaabvsrawWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Raab is a name, raw is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Raab” is a name and “raw” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,153
“Raab” frequency rank
#18,670
“raw” frequency rank
30823
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Raab raw
Definition rechter Zufluss zur Donau in Südostösterreich und Westungarn roh, ungekocht

Where the eye mixes Raab and raw

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Raab
3 ch
raw

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Raab is [ʁaːp] while raw is [rɔ]. 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 (name vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30823, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Raab is recorded at frequency rank #12,153, classified as aname, pronounced [ʁaːp]. raw is at rank #18,670, tagged as anadj, pronounced [rɔ].

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 30823, this pair ranks #1,740,377 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Raab vs raw

Shared letters: ar. Private to "Raab": b. Private to "raw": w.

"Raab" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "raw" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Raabarab · raabb · rab · raba · rraab

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Raab" and "raw" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Raab" is a name and "raw" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Raab" or "raw"?
"Raab" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,153 in our German list, against #18,670 for "raw". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list