Which to use
“raffen” and “rauben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,864
- “raffen” frequency rank
- #16,523
- “rauben” frequency rank
- 61387
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | raffen | rauben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | heftig und begehrlich ergreifen | sich etwas unrechtmäßig und gewaltsam aneignen |
Where the eye mixes raffen and rauben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. raffen (CVCCVC) and rauben (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between raffen and rauben
A purely visual mix-up. raffen ([ˈʁafn̩]) and rauben ([ˈʁaʊ̯bn̩]) 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 61387, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
raffen is recorded at frequency rank #44,864, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁafn̩]. rauben is at rank #16,523, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaʊ̯bn̩].
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 61387, this pair ranks #751,754 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of raffen vs rauben
Shared letters: aenr. Private to "raffen": f. Private to "rauben": bu.
"raffen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "rauben" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "raffen" for "rauben" ever safe?
Which is more common, "raffen" or "rauben"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "raffen" and "rauben" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "raffen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rauben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #751,754 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "raffen" and "rauben" 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 #751,754 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.