rauvsrotWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,465
“rau” frequency rank
#1,020
“rot” frequency rank
14485
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rau rot
Definition nicht glatt, mit unebener, unbearbeiteter Oberfläche, Beschaffenheit eine bunte Farbe, im Spektrum die langwelligste Farbe; eine der drei Grundfarben des digitalen RGB-Farbraums

Where the eye mixes rau and rot

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
rau
3 ch
rot

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. rau ([ʁaʊ̯]) and rot ([ʁoːt]) 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 14485, 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]. rot is at rank #1,020, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʁoːt].

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 14485, this pair ranks #1,950,881 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of rau vs rot

Shared letters: r. Private to "rau": au. Private to "rot": ot.

"rau" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "rot" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rau" and "rot" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʁaʊ̯] versus [ʁoːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "rau" or "rot"?
"rot" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,020 in our German list, against #13,465 for "rau". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list