Which to use
“reiben” and “reimen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,678
- “reiben” frequency rank
- #34,881
- “reimen” frequency rank
- 48559
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reiben | reimen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einem Gegenstand oder Körperteil unter Druck an einem anderen entlangfahren | Reime bilden |
Where the eye mixes reiben and reimen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. reiben and reimen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between reiben and reimen
A purely visual mix-up. reiben ([ˈʁaɪ̯bn̩]) and reimen ([ˈʁaɪ̯mən]) 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 - b in “reiben” becomes m in “reimen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48559, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reiben is recorded at frequency rank #13,678, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯bn̩]. reimen is at rank #34,881, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯mən].
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 48559, this pair ranks #1,244,031 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of reiben vs reimen
Shared letters: einr. Private to "reiben": b. Private to "reimen": m.
"reiben" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "reimen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "reiben" for "reimen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "reiben" or "reimen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "reiben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reimen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,244,031 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reiben" and "reimen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reimen vs rühmen". 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 #1,244,031 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.