reinervsrunnerConfusable pair

Quick tell: reiner is a adjective, runner is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“reiner” is an adjective and “runner” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,828
“reiner” frequency rank
#25,292
“runner” frequency rank
30120
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reiner runner
Definition Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rein Läufer

Where the eye mixes reiner and runner

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

6 ch
reiner
6 ch
runner

Visual trap between reiner and runner

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: reiner is [ˈʁaɪ̯nɐ] while runner is [ˈrʌnəʳ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30120, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reiner is recorded at frequency rank #4,828, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯nɐ]. runner is at rank #25,292, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈrʌnəʳ].

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 30120, this pair ranks #1,754,024 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of reiner vs runner

Shared letters: enr. Private to "reiner": i. Private to "runner": u.

"reiner" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "runner" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • reinereriner · reienr · reinerr · reinner · reinre · renier · riener · rreiner
  • runnerrnuner · rrunner · runenr · runer · runnerr · runnre · urnner

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reiner" and "runner" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "reiner" is an adjective and "runner" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "reiner" vs "runner" - which ranks higher?
"reiner" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,828 in our German list, against #25,292 for "runner". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "reiner" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "runner" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,754,024 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "reiner" and "runner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rinnen vs runner". 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 #1,754,024 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