Which to use
“rote” is an adjective and “Rute” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,901
- “rote” frequency rank
- #37,750
- “Rute” frequency rank
- 39651
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rote | Rute |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs rot | meist zusammengebundene lange, dünne und flexible Zweige (ohne Blätter), Gerte |
Where the eye mixes rote and Rute
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: rote vs Rute
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rote is [ˈʁoːtə] while Rute is [ˈʁuːtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - o in “rote” becomes u in “Rute”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39651, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rote is recorded at frequency rank #1,901, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁoːtə]. Rute is at rank #37,750, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁuːtə].
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 39651, this pair ranks #1,530,741 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of rote vs Rute
Shared letters: ert. Private to "rote": o. Private to "Rute": u.
"rote" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Rute" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "rote" for "Rute" ever safe?
Which is more common, "rote" or "Rute"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "rote" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Rute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,530,741 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rote" and "Rute" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "RUB vs Rute". 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 #1,530,741 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.