Which to use
“reifer” is an adjective and “reime” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,824
- “reifer” frequency rank
- #33,778
- “reime” frequency rank
- 62602
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reifer | reime |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs reif | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs reimen |
Where the eye mixes reifer and reime
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. reifer runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against reime's 5 (CVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses reifer with reime
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: reifer is [ˈʁaɪ̯fɐ] while reime is [ˈʁaɪ̯mə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62602, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reifer is recorded at frequency rank #28,824, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯fɐ]. reime is at rank #33,778, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯mə].
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 62602, this pair ranks #706,856 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of reifer vs reime
Shared letters: eir. Private to "reifer": f. Private to "reime": m.
"reifer" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "reime" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "reifer" and "reime" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "reifer" or "reime" 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 "reifer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reime" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #706,856 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reifer" and "reime" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reibe vs reime". 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 #706,856 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.