ReimsvsreinWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Reims is a name, rein is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Reims” is a name and “rein” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,364
“Reims” frequency rank
#605
“rein” frequency rank
38969
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Reims rein
Definition nordfranzösische Stadt ganz unverschmutzt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Reims and rein apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Reims
4 ch
rein

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Reims is [ʁɛ̃ːs] while rein is [ʁaɪ̯n]. 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 (name vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38969, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Reims is recorded at frequency rank #38,364, classified as aname, pronounced [ʁɛ̃ːs]. rein is at rank #605, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʁaɪ̯n].

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 38969, this pair ranks #1,549,744 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Reims vs rein

Shared letters: eir. Private to "Reims": ms. Private to "rein": n.

"Reims" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "rein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Reimserims · reimms · reimss · reism · riems · rreims
  • reinreinn · reni · rien · rrein

Frequency comparison

Reims#38,364
rein#605

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Reims" and "rein" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Reims" is a name and "rein" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Reims" or "rein"?
"rein" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #605 in our German list, against #38,364 for "Reims". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Reims vs rein

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Reims”; for an adjective, it's “rein”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Reims” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list