Which to use
“raff” and “raffen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,412
- “raff” frequency rank
- #44,864
- “raffen” frequency rank
- 86276
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | raff | raffen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs raffen | heftig und begehrlich ergreifen |
Where the eye mixes raff and raffen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. raff runs 4 letters (CVCC) against raffen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: raff vs raffen
A purely visual mix-up. raff ([ʁaf]) and raffen ([ˈʁafn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “raff” sits inside “raffen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 86276, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
raff is recorded at frequency rank #41,412, classified as averb, pronounced [ʁaf]. raffen is at rank #44,864, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁafn̩].
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 86276, this pair ranks #96,090 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of raff vs raffen
Shared letters: afr. Private to "raff": -. Private to "raffen": en.
"raff" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "raffen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "raff" for "raffen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "raff" vs "raffen" - which ranks higher?
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 "raff" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "raffen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #96,090 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "raff" and "raffen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "raffen vs raunen". 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 #96,090 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.