ReigenvsRuinenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#34,331
“Reigen” frequency rank
#12,372
“Ruinen” frequency rank
46703
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Reigen Ruinen
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 Ruine

Where the eye mixes Reigen and Ruinen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Reigen and Ruinen 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
Ruinen

Look-alike desk: Reigen vs Ruinen

A purely visual mix-up. Reigen ([ˈʁaɪ̯ɡn̩]) and Ruinen ([ʁuˈiːnən]) 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 46703, 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]. Ruinen is at rank #12,372, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʁuˈiːnən].

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 46703, this pair ranks #1,309,949 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Reigen vs Ruinen

Shared letters: einr. Private to "Reigen": g. Private to "Ruinen": u.

"Reigen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Ruinen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Reigen ← erigen · reiegn · reigenn · reiggen · riegen · rreigen
  • Ruinen ← riunen · rruinen · ruienn · ruinenn · ruinne · ruinnen · runien · urinen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Reigen" and "Ruinen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁaɪ̯ɡn̩] versus [ʁuˈiːnən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Reigen" or "Ruinen" show up more?
"Ruinen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,372 in our German list, against #34,331 for "Reigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Reigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ruinen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,309,949 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Reigen" and "Ruinen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reibe vs Reigen". 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 #1,309,949 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