Which to use
“raten” and “rösten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,067
- “raten” frequency rank
- #45,557
- “rösten” frequency rank
- 49624
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | raten | rösten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen Rat geben/erteilen, empfehlen | Flachs oder Hanf zum Gewinnen von Pflanzenfasern mürbe machen |
Where the eye mixes raten and rösten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. raten runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against rösten's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between raten and rösten
A purely visual mix-up. raten ([ˈʁaːtn̩]) and rösten ([ˈʁœstn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49624, 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]. rösten is at rank #45,557, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁœstn̩].
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 49624, this pair ranks #1,204,426 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of raten vs rösten
Shared letters: enrt. Private to "raten": a. Private to "rösten": sö.
"raten" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "rösten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- raten ← raetn · ratenn · ratne · rraten · rtaen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "raten" for "rösten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "raten" vs "rösten" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "raten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rösten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,204,426 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "raten" and "rösten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rollten vs rösten". 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 #1,204,426 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.