rauchtevsrauschtConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#42,072
“rauchte” frequency rank
#29,300
“rauscht” frequency rank
71372
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rauchte rauscht
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs rauchen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs rauschen

Where the eye mixes rauchte and rauscht

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. rauchte (CVVCCCV) and rauscht (CVVCCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
rauchte
7 ch
rauscht

Visual trap between rauchte and rauscht

A purely visual mix-up. rauchte ([ˈʁaʊ̯xtə]) and rauscht ([ʁaʊ̯ʃt]) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71372, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rauchte is recorded at frequency rank #42,072, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaʊ̯xtə]. rauscht is at rank #29,300, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʁaʊ̯ʃt].

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 71372, this pair ranks #418,777 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of rauchte vs rauscht

Shared letters: achrtu. Private to "rauchte": e. Private to "rauscht": s.

"rauchte" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCCV  ·  "rauscht" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rauchtearuchte · racuhte · raucchte · rauchet · rauchhte · rauchtte · raucthe · rauhcte
  • rauschtaruscht · rasucht · raucsht · rausccht · rauschht · rauschtt · rauscth · raushct

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "rauchte" and "rauscht" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁaʊ̯xtə] versus [ʁaʊ̯ʃt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "rauchte" or "rauscht"?
"rauscht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,300 in our German list, against #42,072 for "rauchte". 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 "rauchte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "rauscht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #418,777 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rauchte" and "rauscht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rauchst vs rauchte". 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 #418,777 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