rennenvsrinneWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,429
“rennen” frequency rank
#28,831
“rinne” frequency rank
30260
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rennen rinne
Definition sich schnell zu Fuß fortbewegen, schnell laufen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs rinnen

Where the eye mixes rennen and rinne

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

6 ch
rennen
5 ch
rinne

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. rennen ([ˈʁɛnən]) and rinne ([ˈʁɪnə]) 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 30260, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rennen is recorded at frequency rank #1,429, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɛnən]. rinne is at rank #28,831, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɪnə].

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 30260, this pair ranks #1,751,349 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of rennen vs rinne

Shared letters: enr. Private to "rennen": -. Private to "rinne": i.

"rennen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "rinne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rennenernnen · renen · renenn · rennenn · rennne · rnenen · rrennen
  • rinneirnne · rine · rinen · rnine · rrinne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rennen" and "rinne" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁɛnən] versus [ˈʁɪnə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "rennen" or "rinne"?
"rennen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,429 in our German list, against #28,831 for "rinne". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list