Which to use
“roten” is an adjective and “rufen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,677
- “roten” frequency rank
- #2,512
- “rufen” frequency rank
- 4189
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | roten | rufen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs rot | mit einem Ruf jemanden auffordern, etwas zu tun (zum Beispiel zu kommen oder zu antworten) |
Where the eye mixes roten and rufen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: roten vs rufen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: roten is [ˈʁoːtn̩] while rufen is [ˈʁuːfn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4189, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
roten is recorded at frequency rank #1,677, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁoːtn̩]. rufen is at rank #2,512, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁuːfn̩].
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 4189, this pair ranks #1,998,352 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of roten vs rufen
Shared letters: enr. Private to "roten": ot. Private to "rufen": fu.
"roten" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "rufen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "roten" and "rufen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "roten" vs "rufen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "roten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rufen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,998,352 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "roten" and "rufen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rufen vs rühmen". 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 #1,998,352 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.