ReisvsRossTell them apart

Which to use

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

#5,419
“Reis” frequency rank
#6,586
“Ross” frequency rank
12005
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Reis Ross
Definition weißes, gekocht gegessenes Getreide edles Pferd, besonders zum Reiten

Where the eye mixes Reis and Ross

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Reis
4 ch
Ross

Visual trap between Reis and Ross

A purely visual mix-up. Reis ([ʁaɪ̯s]) and Ross ([ʁɔs]) 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 12005, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Reis is recorded at frequency rank #5,419, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʁaɪ̯s]. Ross is at rank #6,586, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʁɔs].

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 12005, this pair ranks #1,966,717 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Reis vs Ross

Shared letters: rs. Private to "Reis": ei. Private to "Ross": o.

"Reis" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Ross" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Reiseris · reiss · resi · rreis
  • Rossorss · roß · rross · rsos

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Reis" and "Ross" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʁaɪ̯s] versus [ʁɔs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Reis" vs "Ross" - which ranks higher?
"Reis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,419 in our German list, against #6,586 for "Ross". 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 "Reis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ross" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,966,717 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Reis" and "Ross" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ross vs russo". 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 #1,966,717 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