ReigenvsReiserTell them apart

Which to use

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

#34,331
“Reigen” frequency rank
#36,587
“Reiser” frequency rank
70918
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Reigen Reiser
Definition alter Rundtanz, bei dem eine größere Anzahl von Tänzern einem Vortänzer in schreitender oder hüpfender Weise folgt; der Tanz wird von Gesang begleitet Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Reis

Where the eye mixes Reigen and Reiser

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

6 ch
Reigen
6 ch
Reiser

Look-alike desk: Reigen vs Reiser

A purely visual mix-up. Reigen ([ˈʁaɪ̯ɡn̩]) and Reiser ([ˈʁaɪ̯zɐ]) 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 70918, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Reigen is recorded at frequency rank #34,331, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯ɡn̩]. Reiser is at rank #36,587, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯zɐ].

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 70918, this pair ranks #432,019 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Reigen vs Reiser

Shared letters: eir. Private to "Reigen": gn. Private to "Reiser": s.

"Reigen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Reiser" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Reigen ← erigen · reiegn · reigenn · reiggen · riegen · rreigen
  • Reiser ← eriser · reiesr · reiserr · reisre · reisser · resier · rieser · rreiser

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Reigen" and "Reiser" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁaɪ̯ɡn̩] versus [ˈʁaɪ̯zɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Reigen" vs "Reiser" - which ranks higher?
"Reigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,331 in our German list, against #36,587 for "Reiser". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Reigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Reiser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #432,019 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Reigen" and "Reiser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reibe vs Reiser". 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 #432,019 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