readvsrundConfusable pair

Quick tell: read is a verb, rund is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“read” is a verb and “rund” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,794
“read” frequency rank
#460
“rund” frequency rank
10254
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature read rund
Definition lesen kreisförmig (eben)

Where the eye mixes read and rund

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

4 ch
read
4 ch
rund

Visual trap between read and rund

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: read is [ɹiːd] while rund is [ʁʊnt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10254, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

read is recorded at frequency rank #9,794, classified as averb, pronounced [ɹiːd]. rund is at rank #460, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʁʊnt].

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 10254, this pair ranks #1,976,032 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of read vs rund

Shared letters: dr. Private to "read": ae. Private to "rund": nu.

"read" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "rund" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • readerad · raed · readd · reda · rread
  • rundrnud · rrund · rudn · rundd · runnd · urnd

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "read" for "rund" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "read" is a verb and "rund" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "read" or "rund" show up more?
"rund" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #460 in our German list, against #9,794 for "read". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "read" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "rund" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,976,032 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "read" and "rund" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "read vs RSA". 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 #1,976,032 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