RatevsRaumTell them apart

Which to use

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

#5,411
“Rate” frequency rank
#675
“Raum” frequency rank
6086
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Rate Raum
Definition in Prozent ausgedrücktes Verhältnis zwischen zwei Größen sich in drei Dimensionen erstreckende geometrische Größe

Where the eye mixes Rate and Raum

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Rate
4 ch
Raum

Look-alike desk: Rate vs Raum

A purely visual mix-up. Rate ([ˈʁaːtə]) and Raum ([ʁaʊ̯m]) 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 6086, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Rate is recorded at frequency rank #5,411, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁaːtə]. Raum is at rank #675, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʁaʊ̯m].

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 6086, this pair ranks #1,992,764 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Rate vs Raum

Shared letters: ar. Private to "Rate": et. Private to "Raum": mu.

"Rate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Raum" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Rateraet · rrate · rtae
  • Raumarum · ramu · raumm · rraum · ruam

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Rate" for "Raum" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁaːtə] versus [ʁaʊ̯m]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Rate" vs "Raum" - which ranks higher?
"Raum" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #675 in our German list, against #5,411 for "Rate". 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 "Rate" and "Raum" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Rate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Raum" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,992,764 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Rate" and "Raum" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ramen vs Rate". 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 #1,992,764 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