Which to use
“raffen” and “raven” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,864
- “raffen” frequency rank
- #23,674
- “raven” frequency rank
- 68538
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | raffen | raven |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | heftig und begehrlich ergreifen | an einer (oftmals einmaligen) Party mit DJ, einer Tanzveranstaltung mit Technomusik, einem Rave teilnehmen |
Where the eye mixes raffen and raven
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. raffen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against raven's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses raffen with raven
A purely visual mix-up. raffen ([ˈʁafn̩]) and raven ([ˈʁɛɪ̯vn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68538, 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]. raven is at rank #23,674, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɛɪ̯vn̩].
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 68538, this pair ranks #504,581 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of raffen vs raven
Shared letters: aenr. Private to "raffen": f. Private to "raven": v.
"raffen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "raven" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "raffen" for "raven" ever safe?
Frequency check: "raffen" vs "raven" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "raffen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "raven" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #504,581 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "raffen" and "raven" 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 #504,581 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.