RauschvsRutschTell them apart

Which to use

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

#11,313
“Rausch” frequency rank
#19,025
“Rutsch” frequency rank
30338
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Rausch Rutsch
Definition mentaler Zustand der Glückseligkeit oder auch der Verwirrung und Übelkeit, wenn Drogenkonsum Wirkung zeigt Gleiten, Schlittern über den Erdboden

Where the eye mixes Rausch and Rutsch

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Rausch (CVVCCC) and Rutsch (CVCCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
Rausch
6 ch
Rutsch

Why the eye confuses Rausch with Rutsch

A purely visual mix-up. Rausch ([ʁaʊ̯ʃ]) and Rutsch ([ʁʊt͡ʃ]) 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 30338, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Rausch is recorded at frequency rank #11,313, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʁaʊ̯ʃ]. Rutsch is at rank #19,025, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʁʊt͡ʃ].

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 30338, this pair ranks #1,749,844 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Rausch vs Rutsch

Shared letters: chrsu. Private to "Rausch": a. Private to "Rutsch": t.

"Rausch" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC  ·  "Rutsch" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Rausch ← arusch · rasuch · raucsh · rauscch · rauschh · raushc · raussch · rrausch
  • Rutsch ← rrutsch · rtusch · rustch · rutcsh · rutscch · rutschh · rutshc · rutssch

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Rausch" for "Rutsch" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʁaʊ̯ʃ] versus [ʁʊt͡ʃ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Rausch" or "Rutsch"?
"Rausch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,313 in our German list, against #19,025 for "Rutsch". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Rausch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Rutsch" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,749,844 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Rausch" and "Rutsch" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Resch vs Rutsch". 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 #1,749,844 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