RädervsRatesConfusable pair

Quick tell: Räder is a name, Rates is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Räder” is a name and “Rates” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,807
“Räder” frequency rank
#9,075
“Rates” frequency rank
16882
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Räder Rates
Definition deutschsprachiger Familienname, Nachname Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Rat

Where the eye mixes Räder and Rates

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

5 ch
Räder
5 ch
Rates

Why the eye confuses Räder with Rates

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Räder is [ˈʁɛːdɐ] while Rates is [ˈʁaːtəs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16882, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Räder is recorded at frequency rank #7,807, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈʁɛːdɐ]. Rates is at rank #9,075, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁaːtəs].

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 16882, this pair ranks #1,932,214 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Räder vs Rates

Shared letters: er. Private to "Räder": . Private to "Rates": ast.

"Räder" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Rates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Ratesartes · raets · ratess · ratse · rattes · rrates · rtaes

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Räder" and "Rates" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Räder" is a name and "Rates" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Räder" vs "Rates" - which ranks higher?
"Räder" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,807 in our German list, against #9,075 for "Rates". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Räder" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Rates" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,932,214 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Räder" and "Rates" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ramen vs Rates". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,932,214 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list