Which to use
“Rock” and “Rost” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,217
- “Rock” frequency rank
- #14,913
- “Rost” frequency rank
- 17130
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Rock | Rost |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unten offenes Kleidungsstück, das den Unterleib und (wenigstens teilweise) die Beine bedeckt (meist für Frauen) | rötlich braunes Produkt der Korrosion von Eisen |
Where the eye mixes Rock and Rost
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Rock and Rost
A purely visual mix-up. Rock ([ʁɔk]) and Rost ([ʁɔst]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17130, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Rock is recorded at frequency rank #2,217, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʁɔk]. Rost is at rank #14,913, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʁɔst].
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 17130, this pair ranks #1,930,111 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Rock vs Rost
Shared letters: or. Private to "Rock": ck. Private to "Rost": st.
"Rock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Rost" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Rock" and "Rost" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Rock" or "Rost" 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 "Rock" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Rost" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,930,111 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Rock" and "Rost" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Rost vs RSA". 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 #1,930,111 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.