rivsrohConfusable pair

Quick tell: ri is a pronoun, roh is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ri” is a pronoun and “roh” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,020
“ri” frequency rank
#17,114
“roh” frequency rank
36134
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ri roh
Definition geschlechtsunabhängiges Personalpronomen der 3. Person Singular für Personen nicht gekocht

Where the eye mixes ri and roh

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

2 ch
ri
3 ch
roh

Visual trap between ri and roh

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ri is [ri] while roh is [ʁoː]. 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 (pronoun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36134, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ri is recorded at frequency rank #19,020, classified as apron, pronounced [ri]. roh is at rank #17,114, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʁoː].

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 36134, this pair ranks #1,623,082 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ri vs roh

Shared letters: r. Private to "ri": i. Private to "roh": ho.

"ri" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "roh" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ri" and "roh" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ri" is a pronoun and "roh" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ri" or "roh"?
"roh" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,114 in our German list, against #19,020 for "ri". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ri" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "roh" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,623,082 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ri" and "roh" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ri vs RUB". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,623,082 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