Which to use
“raten” is a verb and “Rats” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,067
- “raten” frequency rank
- #22,474
- “Rats” frequency rank
- 26541
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | raten | Rats |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen Rat geben/erteilen, empfehlen | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Rat |
Where the eye mixes raten and Rats
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses raten with Rats
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: raten is [ˈʁaːtn̩] while Rats is [ʁaːt͡s]. 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 26541, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
raten is recorded at frequency rank #4,067, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaːtn̩]. Rats is at rank #22,474, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʁaːt͡s].
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 26541, this pair ranks #1,816,446 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of raten vs Rats
Shared letters: art. Private to "raten": en. Private to "Rats": s.
"raten" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "Rats" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "raten" and "Rats" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "raten" or "Rats" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "raten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Rats" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,816,446 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "raten" and "Rats" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Rades vs Rats". 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 #1,816,446 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.