RissvsRusWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,716
“Riss” frequency rank
#30,267
“Rus” frequency rank
36983
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Riss Rus
Definition Trennungsspalt, der durch das Zerreißen eines materiellen Gegenstandes entsteht Gebiet der ostslawischen Staats- und Gemeinwesen vom 9. bis zum 17. Jahrhundert

Where the eye mixes Riss and Rus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Riss
3 ch
Rus

Look-alike desk: Riss vs Rus

A purely visual mix-up. Riss ([ʁɪs]) and Rus ([ʁʊs]) 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 36983, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Riss is recorded at frequency rank #6,716, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʁɪs]. 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 36983, this pair ranks #1,601,766 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Riss vs Rus

Shared letters: rs. Private to "Riss": i. Private to "Rus": u.

"Riss" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Rus" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Rissirss · ris · riß · rriss · rsis

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Riss" for "Rus" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʁɪs] versus [ʁʊs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Riss" vs "Rus" - which ranks higher?
"Riss" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,716 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

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Riss" 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 #1,601,766 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Riss" 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 #1,601,766 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