regnenvsrinnenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,906
“regnen” frequency rank
#46,945
“rinnen” frequency rank
61851
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature regnen rinnen
Definition in Tropfenform zu Boden fallen langsam und in geringer Menge fließen

Where the eye mixes regnen and rinnen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. regnen and rinnen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
regnen
6 ch
rinnen

Visual trap between regnen and rinnen

A purely visual mix-up. regnen ([ˈʁeːɡnən]) and rinnen ([ˈʁɪnən]) 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 61851, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

regnen is recorded at frequency rank #14,906, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁeːɡnən]. rinnen is at rank #46,945, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɪnən].

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 61851, this pair ranks #734,319 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of regnen vs rinnen

Shared letters: enr. Private to "regnen": g. Private to "rinnen": i.

"regnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "rinnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • regnen ← ergnen · reggnen · regnenn · regnne · regnnen · rengen · rgenen · rregnen
  • rinnen ← irnnen · rinenn · rinnenn · rinnne · rninen · rrinnen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "regnen" and "rinnen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁeːɡnən] versus [ˈʁɪnən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "regnen" or "rinnen"?
"regnen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,906 in our German list, against #46,945 for "rinnen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "regnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "rinnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #734,319 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "regnen" and "rinnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "raunen vs rinnen". 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 #734,319 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