Which to use
“rette” and “rotten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,285
- “rette” frequency rank
- #34,340
- “rotten” frequency rank
- 59625
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rette | rotten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs retten | faulen, verfallen |
Where the eye mixes rette and rotten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: rette vs rotten
A purely visual mix-up. rette ([ˈʁɛtə]) and rotten ([ˈʁɔtn̩]) 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 59625, 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]. rotten is at rank #34,340, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɔtn̩].
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 59625, this pair ranks #817,489 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of rette vs rotten
Shared letters: ert. Private to "rette": -. Private to "rotten": no.
"rette" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "rotten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "rette" and "rotten" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "rette" vs "rotten" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
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 "rotten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #817,489 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rette" and "rotten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rollten vs rotten". 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 #817,489 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.