Which to use
“Reif” and “Reifen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,983
- “Reif” frequency rank
- #3,765
- “Reifen” frequency rank
- 11748
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Reif | Reifen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | kristalline Ablagerung aus gefrorenem Wasser, die sich in kalten Nächten durch Resublimation an Pflanzen und Gegenständen bildet | der auf der Felge liegende Teil eines Rades |
Where the eye mixes Reif and Reifen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Reif runs 4 letters (CVVC) against Reifen's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Reif with Reifen
A purely visual mix-up. Reif ([ʁaɪ̯f]) and Reifen ([ˈʁaɪ̯fn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Reif” sits inside “Reifen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11748, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Reif is recorded at frequency rank #7,983, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʁaɪ̯f]. Reifen is at rank #3,765, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯fn̩].
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 11748, this pair ranks #1,968,135 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Reif vs Reifen
Shared letters: efir. Private to "Reif": -. Private to "Reifen": n.
"Reif" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "Reifen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Reif" and "Reifen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Reif" vs "Reifen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Reif" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Reifen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,968,135 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Reif" and "Reifen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rech vs Reif". 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 #1,968,135 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.