redenvsrennenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#640
“reden” frequency rank
#1,429
“rennen” frequency rank
2069
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reden rennen
Definition etwas sagen, Sprache von sich geben sich schnell zu Fuß fortbewegen, schnell laufen

Where the eye mixes reden and rennen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
reden
6 ch
rennen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. reden ([ˈʁeːdn̩]) and rennen ([ˈʁɛnən]) 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 2069, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reden is recorded at frequency rank #640, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁeːdn̩]. rennen is at rank #1,429, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɛnən].

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 2069, this pair ranks #2,003,164 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of reden vs rennen

Shared letters: enr. Private to "reden": d. Private to "rennen": -.

"reden" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "rennen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • redenrdeen · redden · redenn · redne · reedn · rreden
  • rennenernnen · renen · renenn · rennenn · rennne · rnenen · rrennen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reden" and "rennen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁeːdn̩] versus [ˈʁɛnən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "reden" or "rennen"?
"reden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #640 in our German list, against #1,429 for "rennen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list