Which to use
“rette” is a verb and “rote” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,285
- “rette” frequency rank
- #1,901
- “rote” frequency rank
- 27186
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rette | rote |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs retten | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs rot |
Where the eye mixes rette and rote
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses rette with rote
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rette is [ˈʁɛtə] while rote is [ˈʁoːtə]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27186, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rette is recorded at frequency rank #25,285, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɛtə]. rote is at rank #1,901, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁoːtə].
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 27186, this pair ranks #1,805,880 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of rette vs rote
Shared letters: ert. Private to "rette": -. Private to "rote": o.
"rette" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "rote" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "rette" and "rote" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "rette" or "rote" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "rette" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rote" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,805,880 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rette" and "rote" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ragte vs rette". 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 #1,805,880 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.