RaketevsRateTell them apart

Which to use

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

#8,767
“Rakete” frequency rank
#5,411
“Rate” frequency rank
14178
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Rakete Rate
Definition Flugkörper mit Rückstoßantrieb in Prozent ausgedrücktes Verhältnis zwischen zwei Größen

Where the eye mixes Rakete and Rate

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Rakete
4 ch
Rate

Why the eye confuses Rakete with Rate

A purely visual mix-up. Rakete ([ʁaˈkeːtə]) and Rate ([ˈʁaːtə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14178, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Rakete is recorded at frequency rank #8,767, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʁaˈkeːtə]. Rate is at rank #5,411, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁaːtə].

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 14178, this pair ranks #1,953,033 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Rakete vs Rate

Shared letters: aert. Private to "Rakete": k. Private to "Rate": -.

"Rakete" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "Rate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Raketearkete · raekte · rakeet · rakette · rakkete · raktee · rkaete · rrakete
  • Rateraet · rrate · rtae

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Rakete" and "Rate" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʁaˈkeːtə] versus [ˈʁaːtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Rakete" vs "Rate" - which ranks higher?
"Rate" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,411 in our German list, against #8,767 for "Rakete". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Rakete" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Rate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,953,033 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Rakete" and "Rate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ragte vs Rakete". 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 #1,953,033 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