Which to use
“rauchen” and “rauen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,337
- “rauchen” frequency rank
- #27,017
- “rauen” frequency rank
- 30354
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rauchen | rauen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas anzünden und den Rauch einatmen | eine (glatte) Oberfläche rau machen |
Where the eye mixes rauchen and rauen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. rauchen runs 7 letters (CVVCCVC) against rauen's 5 (CVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: rauchen vs rauen
A purely visual mix-up. rauchen ([ˈʁaʊ̯xn̩]) and rauen ([ˈʁaʊ̯ən]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30354, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rauchen is recorded at frequency rank #3,337, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaʊ̯xn̩]. rauen is at rank #27,017, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaʊ̯ən].
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 30354, this pair ranks #1,749,532 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of rauchen vs rauen
Shared letters: aenru. Private to "rauchen": ch. Private to "rauen": -.
"rauchen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "rauen" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "rauchen" and "rauen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "rauchen" or "rauen"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "rauchen" and "rauen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "rauchen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rauen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,749,532 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rauchen" and "rauen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rauen 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 #1,749,532 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.