Which to use
“rauen” and “rügen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,017
- “rauen” frequency rank
- #11,115
- “rügen” frequency rank
- 38132
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rauen | rügen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine (glatte) Oberfläche rau machen | jemanden zurechtweisen, tadeln; mit Nachdruck kritisieren |
Where the eye mixes rauen and rügen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between rauen and rügen
A purely visual mix-up. rauen ([ˈʁaʊ̯ən]) and rügen ([ˈʁyːɡn̩]) 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 38132, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rauen is recorded at frequency rank #27,017, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaʊ̯ən]. rügen is at rank #11,115, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁyːɡn̩].
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 38132, this pair ranks #1,571,952 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of rauen vs rügen
Shared letters: enr. Private to "rauen": au. Private to "rügen": gü.
"rauen" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "rügen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- rauen ← aruen · raeun · rauenn · raune · rrauen · ruaen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "rauen" and "rügen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "rauen" or "rügen" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "rauen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rügen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,571,952 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rauen" and "rügen" 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 #1,571,952 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.