Which to use
“rar” is an adjective and “Ruf” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,390
- “rar” frequency rank
- #2,317
- “Ruf” frequency rank
- 19707
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rar | Ruf |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nur in geringer Anzahl vorhanden; nur in geringer Häufigkeit vorkommend | ein Laut, der an jemanden adressiert ist |
Where the eye mixes rar and Ruf
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: rar vs Ruf
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rar is [ʁaːɐ̯] while Ruf is [ʁuːf]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19707, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rar is recorded at frequency rank #17,390, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʁaːɐ̯]. Ruf is at rank #2,317, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʁuːf].
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 19707, this pair ranks #1,905,486 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of rar vs Ruf
Shared letters: r. Private to "rar": a. Private to "Ruf": fu.
"rar" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "Ruf" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "rar" for "Ruf" ever safe?
Which is more common, "rar" or "Ruf"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "rar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ruf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,905,486 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rar" and "Ruf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rar vs RUB". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,905,486 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.