ReesvsRemsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#40,787
“Rees” frequency rank
#33,782
“Rems” frequency rank
74569
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Rees Rems
Definition eine Stadt in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutschland rechter Zufluss des Neckar

Where the eye mixes Rees and Rems

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Rees (CVVC) and Rems (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
Rees
4 ch
Rems

Visual trap between Rees and Rems

A purely visual mix-up. Rees ([ʁeːs]) and Rems ([ʁɛms]) 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 a single letter - e in “Rees” becomes m in “Rems”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74569, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Rees is recorded at frequency rank #40,787, classified as aname, pronounced [ʁeːs]. Rems is at rank #33,782, tagged as aname, pronounced [ʁɛms].

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 74569, this pair ranks #330,050 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Rees vs Rems

Shared letters: ers. Private to "Rees": -. Private to "Rems": m.

"Rees" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Rems" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Rees ← eres · reess · rrees
  • Rems ← erms · remms · remss · resm · rmes · rrems

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Rees" and "Rems" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʁeːs] versus [ʁɛms]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Rees" or "Rems"?
"Rems" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,782 in our German list, against #40,787 for "Rees". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Rees" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Rems" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #330,050 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Rees" and "Rems" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Rees vs Remus". 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 #330,050 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