RostvsröstenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Rost is a noun, rösten is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Rost” is a noun and “rösten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,913
“Rost” frequency rank
#45,557
“rösten” frequency rank
60470
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Rost rösten
Definition rötlich braunes Produkt der Korrosion von Eisen Flachs oder Hanf zum Gewinnen von Pflanzenfasern mürbe machen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Rost and rösten apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Rost
6 ch
rösten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Rost is [ʁɔst] while rösten is [ˈʁœstn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60470, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Rost is recorded at frequency rank #14,913, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʁɔst]. rösten is at rank #45,557, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁœstn̩].

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 60470, this pair ranks #785,787 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Rost vs rösten

Shared letters: rst. Private to "Rost": o. Private to "rösten": enö.

"Rost" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "rösten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Rostorst · rosst · rostt · rots · rrost · rsot

Frequency comparison

Rost#14,913
rösten#45,557

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Rost" and "rösten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Rost" is a noun and "rösten" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Rost" or "rösten"?
"Rost" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,913 in our German list, against #45,557 for "rösten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Rost vs rösten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Rost”; for a verb, it's “rösten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Rost” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list