ReussvsRusTell them apart

Quick tell: Reuss is a name, Rus is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Reuss” is a name and “Rus” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,263
“Reuss” frequency rank
#30,267
“Rus” frequency rank
60530
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Reuss Rus
Definition Fluss in der Schweiz Gebiet der ostslawischen Staats- und Gemeinwesen vom 9. bis zum 17. Jahrhundert

Where the eye mixes Reuss and Rus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Reuss runs 5 letters (CVVCC) against Rus's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Reuss
3 ch
Rus

Why the eye confuses Reuss with Rus

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Reuss is [ʁɔɪ̯s] while Rus is [ʁʊs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60530, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Reuss is recorded at frequency rank #30,263, classified as aname, pronounced [ʁɔɪ̯s]. Rus is at rank #30,267, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʁʊs].

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 60530, this pair ranks #783,582 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Reuss vs Rus

Shared letters: rsu. Private to "Reuss": e. Private to "Rus": -.

"Reuss" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "Rus" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Reuss ← eruss · resus · reus · reuß · rreuss · ruess

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Reuss" and "Rus" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Reuss" is a name and "Rus" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Reuss" or "Rus"?
"Reuss" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,263 in our German list, against #30,267 for "Rus". 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 "Reuss" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Rus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #783,582 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Reuss" and "Rus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "RUB vs Rus". 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 #783,582 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