regierenvsrotierenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,126
“regieren” frequency rank
#37,172
“rotieren” frequency rank
45298
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature regieren rotieren
Definition die Herrschaft ausüben, die Macht haben sich um eine (gedachte) Achse bewegen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set regieren and rotieren apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
regieren
8 ch
rotieren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. regieren ([ʁeˈɡiːʁən]) and rotieren ([ʁoˈtiːʁən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45298, 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]. rotieren is at rank #37,172, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʁoˈtiːʁən].

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 45298, this pair ranks #1,357,795 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of regieren vs rotieren

Shared letters: einr. Private to "regieren": g. Private to "rotieren": ot.

"regieren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC  ·  "rotieren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • regierenergieren · regeiren · reggieren · regieern · regierenn · regierne · regierren · regireen
  • rotierenortieren · roiteren · roteiren · rotieern · rotierenn · rotierne · rotierren · rotireen

Frequency comparison

regieren#8,126
rotieren#37,172

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "regieren" and "rotieren" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʁeˈɡiːʁən] versus [ʁoˈtiːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "regieren" or "rotieren"?
"regieren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,126 in our German list, against #37,172 for "rotieren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering regieren vs rotieren

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “regieren” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list