Which to use
“regieren” and “regulieren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,126
- “regieren” frequency rank
- #20,033
- “regulieren” frequency rank
- 28159
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | regieren | regulieren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Herrschaft ausüben, die Macht haben | einen Prozess steuern, ihn unter Kontrolle behalten |
Where the eye mixes regieren and regulieren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. regieren runs 8 letters (CVCVVCVC) against regulieren's 10 (CVCVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses regieren with regulieren
A purely visual mix-up. regieren ([ʁeˈɡiːʁən]) and regulieren ([ʁeɡuˈliːʁən]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28159, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
regieren is recorded at frequency rank #8,126, classified as averb, pronounced [ʁeˈɡiːʁən]. regulieren is at rank #20,033, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʁeɡuˈliːʁən].
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 28159, this pair ranks #1,789,530 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of regieren vs regulieren
Shared letters: eginr. Private to "regieren": -. Private to "regulieren": lu.
"regieren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "regulieren" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- regieren ← ergieren · regeiren · reggieren · regieern · regierenn · regierne · regierren · regireen
- regulieren ← ergulieren · reggulieren · regluieren · reguileren · reguleiren · regulieern · regulierenn · regulierne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "regieren" for "regulieren" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "regieren" or "regulieren" show up more?
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 "regieren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "regulieren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,789,530 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "regieren" and "regulieren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "regulieren vs regulierten". 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 #1,789,530 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.