rappvsRaupeTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#31,743
“rapp” frequency rank
#24,084
“Raupe” frequency rank
55827
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rapp Raupe
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs rappen wurmförmige Larve des Schmetterlings oder der Blattwespe mit beißenden Mundteilen, kurzen bekrallten Brustfüßen und stummelförmigen Afterfüßen

Where the eye mixes rapp and Raupe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
rapp
5 ch
Raupe

Visual trap between rapp and Raupe

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rapp is [ʁɛp] while Raupe is [ˈʁaʊ̯pə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55827, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rapp is recorded at frequency rank #31,743, classified as averb, pronounced [ʁɛp]. 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 55827, this pair ranks #964,125 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of rapp vs Raupe

Shared letters: apr. Private to "rapp": -. Private to "Raupe": eu.

"rapp" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Raupe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rapparpp · rpap · rrapp
  • Raupearupe · rapue · rauep · rauppe · rraupe · ruape

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "rapp" for "Raupe" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "rapp" is a verb and "Raupe" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "rapp" or "Raupe"?
"Raupe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,084 in our German list, against #31,743 for "rapp". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "rapp" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Raupe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #964,125 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rapp" and "Raupe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rapp vs rappt". 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 #964,125 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