Which to use
“rauben” and “rauchen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,523
- “rauben” frequency rank
- #3,337
- “rauchen” frequency rank
- 19860
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rauben | rauchen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich etwas unrechtmäßig und gewaltsam aneignen | etwas anzünden und den Rauch einatmen |
Where the eye mixes rauben and rauchen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. rauben runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against rauchen's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between rauben and rauchen
A purely visual mix-up. rauben ([ˈʁaʊ̯bn̩]) and rauchen ([ˈʁaʊ̯xn̩]) 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 19860, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rauben is recorded at frequency rank #16,523, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaʊ̯bn̩]. rauchen is at rank #3,337, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaʊ̯xn̩].
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 19860, this pair ranks #1,903,825 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of rauben vs rauchen
Shared letters: aenru. Private to "rauben": b. Private to "rauchen": ch.
"rauben" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "rauchen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "rauben" for "rauchen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "rauben" vs "rauchen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "rauben" and "rauchen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "rauben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rauchen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,903,825 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rauben" and "rauchen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rauben vs raunen". 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 #1,903,825 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.