ranavsrunsConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#44,865
“rana” frequency rank
#40,182
“runs” frequency rank
85047
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rana runs
Definition der Erde nächster Stern; Sonne 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs run

Where the eye mixes rana and runs

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

4 ch
rana
4 ch
runs

Look-alike desk: rana vs runs

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rana is [ɽáːnáː] while runs is [ɹʌnz]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 85047, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rana is recorded at frequency rank #44,865, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɽáːnáː]. runs is at rank #40,182, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɹʌnz].

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 85047, this pair ranks #114,290 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of rana vs runs

Shared letters: nr. Private to "rana": a. Private to "runs": su.

"rana" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "runs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rana ← arna · raan · ranna · rnaa · rrana
  • runs ← rnus · rruns · runns · runss · rusn · urns

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rana" and "runs" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "rana" is a noun and "runs" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "rana" or "runs" show up more?
"runs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,182 in our German list, against #44,865 for "rana". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "rana" and "runs" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "rana" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "runs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #114,290 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rana" and "runs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rana vs RSA". 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 #114,290 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