Which to use
“reason” is a noun and “reisen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,402
- “reason” frequency rank
- #1,783
- “reisen” frequency rank
- 37185
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reason | reisen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | das, wodurch die Richtigkeit von etwas gerechtfertigt ist bzw. erklärt oder widerlegt wird | sich von einem Ort zum nächsten bewegen; eine Reise unternehmen |
Where the eye mixes reason and reisen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses reason with reisen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: reason is [ˈɹiːzən] while reisen is [ˈʁaɪ̯zn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37185, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reason is recorded at frequency rank #35,402, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɹiːzən]. reisen is at rank #1,783, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯zn̩].
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 37185, this pair ranks #1,596,684 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of reason vs reisen
Shared letters: enrs. Private to "reason": ao. Private to "reisen": i.
"reason" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "reisen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "reason" for "reisen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "reason" vs "reisen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "reason" and "reisen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "reason" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reisen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,596,684 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reason" and "reisen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reinsten vs reisen". 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 #1,596,684 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.