Which to use
“rot” and “rote” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,020
- “rot” frequency rank
- #1,901
- “rote” frequency rank
- 2921
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rot | rote |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine bunte Farbe, im Spektrum die langwelligste Farbe; eine der drei Grundfarben des digitalen RGB-Farbraums | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs rot |
Where the eye mixes rot and rote
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between rot and rote
A purely visual mix-up. rot ([ʁoːt]) and rote ([ˈʁoːtə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “rot” sits inside “rote”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2921, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rot is recorded at frequency rank #1,020, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʁoːt]. rote is at rank #1,901, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁoːtə].
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 2921, this pair ranks #2,001,312 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of rot vs rote
Shared letters: ort. Private to "rot": -. Private to "rote": e.
"rot" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "rote" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- rote ← roet · rotte · rrote · rtoe
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "rot" for "rote" ever safe?
Frequency check: "rot" vs "rote" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "rot" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rote" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,001,312 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rot" and "rote" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rot vs RUB". 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 #2,001,312 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.