ragtevsRaupeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ragte is a verb, Raupe is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ragte” is a verb and “Raupe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#46,219
“ragte” frequency rank
#24,084
“Raupe” frequency rank
70303
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ragte Raupe
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs ragen wurmförmige Larve des Schmetterlings oder der Blattwespe mit beißenden Mundteilen, kurzen bekrallten Brustfüßen und stummelförmigen Afterfüßen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ragte and Raupe apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
ragte
5 ch
Raupe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ragte is [ˈʁaːktə] while Raupe is [ˈʁaʊ̯pə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70303, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ragte is recorded at frequency rank #46,219, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaːktə]. Raupe is at rank #24,084, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁaʊ̯pə].

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 70303, this pair ranks #450,334 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ragte vs Raupe

Shared letters: aer. Private to "ragte": gt. Private to "Raupe": pu.

"ragte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Raupe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ragteargte · raget · raggte · ragtte · ratge · rgate · rragte
  • Raupearupe · rapue · rauep · rauppe · rraupe · ruape

Frequency comparison

ragte#46,219
Raupe#24,084

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ragte" and "Raupe" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ragte" is a verb and "Raupe" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ragte" or "Raupe"?
"Raupe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,084 in our German list, against #46,219 for "ragte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ragte vs Raupe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “ragte”; for a noun, it's “Raupe”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ragte” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list