ReimsvsRemsConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#38,364
“Reims” frequency rank
#33,782
“Rems” frequency rank
72146
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Reims Rems
Definition nordfranzösische Stadt rechter Zufluss des Neckar

Where the eye mixes Reims and Rems

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Reims runs 5 letters (CVVCC) against Rems's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Reims
4 ch
Rems

Visual trap between Reims and Rems

A purely visual mix-up. Reims ([ʁɛ̃ːs]) and Rems ([ʁɛms]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72146, 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]. Rems is at rank #33,782, tagged as aname, pronounced [ʁɛms].

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 72146, this pair ranks #396,506 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Reims vs Rems

Shared letters: emrs. Private to "Reims": i. Private to "Rems": -.

"Reims" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "Rems" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Reims ← erims · reimms · reimss · reism · riems · rreims
  • Rems ← erms · remms · remss · resm · rmes · rrems

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Reims" and "Rems" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʁɛ̃ːs] versus [ʁɛms]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Reims" vs "Rems" - which ranks higher?
"Rems" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,782 in our German list, against #38,364 for "Reims". 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 "Reims" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Rems" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #396,506 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Reims" and "Rems" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Reims vs Remus". 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 #396,506 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