raffvsrufeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,412
“raff” frequency rank
#6,967
“rufe” frequency rank
48379
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature raff rufe
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs raffen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs rufen

Where the eye mixes raff and rufe

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

4 ch
raff
4 ch
rufe

Look-alike desk: raff vs rufe

A purely visual mix-up. raff ([ʁaf]) and rufe ([ˈʁuːfə]) 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 48379, 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]. rufe is at rank #6,967, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁuːfə].

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 48379, this pair ranks #1,250,688 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of raff vs rufe

Shared letters: fr. Private to "raff": a. Private to "rufe": eu.

"raff" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "rufe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • raffarff · rfaf · rraff
  • ruferfue · rrufe · ruef · ruffe · urfe

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "raff" and "rufe" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʁaf] versus [ˈʁuːfə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "raff" or "rufe"?
"rufe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,967 in our German list, against #41,412 for "raff". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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 "rufe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,250,688 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "raff" and "rufe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "raff vs rofl". 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 #1,250,688 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