RaupevsRübeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#24,084
“Raupe” frequency rank
#34,344
“Rübe” frequency rank
58428
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Raupe Rübe
Definition wurmförmige Larve des Schmetterlings oder der Blattwespe mit beißenden Mundteilen, kurzen bekrallten Brustfüßen und stummelförmigen Afterfüßen meist kegelförmig verdickte Hauptwurzel (teilweise mit Anteilen der Sprossachse) eines Bedecktsamers als Speicherorgan für Reservestoffe

Where the eye mixes Raupe and Rübe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Raupe runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against Rübe's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Raupe
4 ch
Rübe

Visual trap between Raupe and Rübe

A purely visual mix-up. Raupe ([ˈʁaʊ̯pə]) and Rübe ([ˈʁyːbə]) 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 58428, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Raupe is recorded at frequency rank #24,084, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁaʊ̯pə]. Rübe is at rank #34,344, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁyːbə].

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 58428, this pair ranks #863,105 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Raupe vs Rübe

Shared letters: er. Private to "Raupe": apu. Private to "Rübe": bü.

"Raupe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "Rübe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Raupe ← arupe · rapue · rauep · rauppe · rraupe · ruape

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Raupe" and "Rübe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁaʊ̯pə] versus [ˈʁyːbə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Raupe" or "Rübe" show up more?
"Raupe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,084 in our German list, against #34,344 for "Rübe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Raupe" and "Rübe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Raupe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Rübe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #863,105 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Raupe" and "Rübe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "RUB vs Rübe". 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 #863,105 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