Which to use
“rau” is an adjective and “Raupe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,465
- “rau” frequency rank
- #24,084
- “Raupe” frequency rank
- 37549
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rau | Raupe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht glatt, mit unebener, unbearbeiteter Oberfläche, Beschaffenheit | wurmförmige Larve des Schmetterlings oder der Blattwespe mit beißenden Mundteilen, kurzen bekrallten Brustfüßen und stummelförmigen Afterfüßen |
Where the eye mixes rau and Raupe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between rau and Raupe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rau is [ʁaʊ̯] while Raupe is [ˈʁaʊ̯pə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “rau” sits inside “Raupe”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37549, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rau is recorded at frequency rank #13,465, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʁaʊ̯]. 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 37549, this pair ranks #1,587,290 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of rau vs Raupe
Shared letters: aru. Private to "rau": -. Private to "Raupe": ep.
"rau" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "Raupe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Raupe ← arupe · rapue · rauep · rauppe · rraupe · ruape
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "rau" and "Raupe" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "rau" vs "Raupe" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "rau" 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 #1,587,290 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rau" and "Raupe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "raunen vs Raupe". 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 #1,587,290 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.