RadevsraysWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Rade” and “rays” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#43,432
“Rade” frequency rank
#37,153
“rays” frequency rank
80585
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Rade rays
Definition wilde Ackerpflanze Plural des Substantivs ray

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Rade and rays apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Rade
4 ch
rays

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Rade ([ˈʁaːdə]) and rays ([ɹeɪz]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80585, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Rade is recorded at frequency rank #43,432, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁaːdə]. rays is at rank #37,153, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɹeɪz].

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 80585, this pair ranks #192,665 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Rade vs rays

Shared letters: ar. Private to "Rade": de. Private to "rays": sy.

"Rade" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "rays" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Radearde · radde · rdae · rrade
  • raysarys · rasy · rayss · rayys · rrays · ryas

Frequency comparison

Rade#43,432
rays#37,153

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Rade" and "rays" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁaːdə] versus [ɹeɪz]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Rade" or "rays"?
"rays" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,153 in our German list, against #43,432 for "Rade". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Rade vs rays

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Rade” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list