ramavsraysWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#32,729
“rama” frequency rank
#37,153
“rays” frequency rank
69882
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rama rays
Definition Körperregion bei Wirbeltieren zwischen Halsansatz und den Schultergelenken; Schulter Plural des Substantivs ray

Where the eye mixes rama and rays

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. rama (CVCV) and rays (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
rama
4 ch
rays

Look-alike desk: rama vs rays

A purely visual mix-up. rama ([ˈraːma]) and rays ([ɹeɪz]) 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 69882, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rama is recorded at frequency rank #32,729, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈraːma]. rays is at rank #37,153, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɹeɪz].

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 69882, this pair ranks #463,087 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of rama vs rays

Shared letters: ar. Private to "rama": m. Private to "rays": sy.

"rama" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "rays" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rama ← raam · ramma · rmaa · rrama
  • rays ← arys · rasy · rayss · rayys · rrays · ryas

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "rama" for "rays" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈraːma] versus [ɹeɪz]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "rama" or "rays"?
"rama" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,729 in our German list, against #37,153 for "rays". 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 "rama" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "rays" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #463,087 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rama" and "rays" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Rades vs rays". 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 #463,087 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