Which to use
“rays” and “Rus” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,153
- “rays” frequency rank
- #30,267
- “Rus” frequency rank
- 67420
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rays | Rus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plural des Substantivs ray | Gebiet der ostslawischen Staats- und Gemeinwesen vom 9. bis zum 17. Jahrhundert |
Where the eye mixes rays and Rus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses rays with Rus
A purely visual mix-up. rays ([ɹeɪz]) and Rus ([ʁʊs]) 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 67420, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rays is recorded at frequency rank #37,153, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɹeɪz]. Rus is at rank #30,267, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʁʊs].
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 67420, this pair ranks #540,662 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of rays vs Rus
Shared letters: rs. Private to "rays": ay. Private to "Rus": u.
"rays" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "Rus" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- rays ← arys · rasy · rayss · rayys · rrays · ryas
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "rays" for "Rus" ever safe?
Which is more common, "rays" or "Rus"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "rays" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Rus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #540,662 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rays" and "Rus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Rades vs rays". 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 #540,662 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.