Which to use
“rau” is an adjective and “re” is a particle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,465
- “rau” frequency rank
- #4,150
- “re” frequency rank
- 17615
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rau | re |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht glatt, mit unebener, unbearbeiteter Oberfläche, Beschaffenheit | beim Solmisieren oder Solfeggieren benutzte Silbe zum Singen eines bestimmten Tons aus der Tonleiter |
Where the eye mixes rau and re
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rau is [ʁaʊ̯] while re is [ʁeː]. 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 (adjective vs particle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17615, 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]. re is at rank #4,150, tagged as aparticle, pronounced [ʁeː].
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 17615, this pair ranks #1,925,827 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of rau vs re
Shared letters: r. Private to "rau": au. Private to "re": e.
"rau" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "re" · 2 letters · shape CV