RaumvsRufWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#675
“Raum” frequency rank
#2,317
“Ruf” frequency rank
2992
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Raum Ruf
Definition sich in drei Dimensionen erstreckende geometrische Größe ein Laut, der an jemanden adressiert ist

Where the eye mixes Raum and Ruf

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Raum
3 ch
Ruf

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Raum ([ʁaʊ̯m]) and Ruf ([ʁuːf]) 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 2992, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Raum is recorded at frequency rank #675, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʁaʊ̯m]. Ruf is at rank #2,317, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʁuːf].

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 2992, this pair ranks #2,001,179 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Raum vs Ruf

Shared letters: ru. Private to "Raum": am. Private to "Ruf": f.

"Raum" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Ruf" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Raumarum · ramu · raumm · rraum · ruam

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Raum" and "Ruf" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʁaʊ̯m] versus [ʁuːf]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Raum" or "Ruf"?
"Raum" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #675 in our German list, against #2,317 for "Ruf". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "Raum" and "Ruf". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Raum" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ruf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,001,179 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Raum" and "Ruf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "RUB vs Ruf". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list