raubenvsrobbenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#16,523
“rauben” frequency rank
#13,223
“robben” frequency rank
29746
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rauben robben
Definition sich etwas unrechtmäßig und gewaltsam aneignen sich auf dem Bauch liegend vorwärtsbewegen

Where the eye mixes rauben and robben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
rauben
6 ch
robben

Look-alike desk: rauben vs robben

A purely visual mix-up. rauben ([ˈʁaʊ̯bn̩]) and robben ([ˈʁɔbn̩]) 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 29746, 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]. robben is at rank #13,223, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɔbn̩].

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 29746, this pair ranks #1,761,080 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of rauben vs robben

Shared letters: benr. Private to "rauben": au. Private to "robben": o.

"rauben" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "robben" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • raubenaruben · rabuen · raubben · raubenn · raubne · rauebn · rrauben · ruaben
  • robbenorbben · rboben · robbenn · robbne · robebn · roben · rrobben

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "rauben" for "robben" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁaʊ̯bn̩] versus [ˈʁɔbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "rauben" or "robben"?
"robben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,223 in our German list, against #16,523 for "rauben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "rauben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "robben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,761,080 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rauben" and "robben" 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 #1,761,080 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list