RotenburgvsRottenburgTell them apart

Which to use

“Rotenburg” and “Rottenburg” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#19,697
“Rotenburg” frequency rank
#24,100
“Rottenburg” frequency rank
43797
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Rotenburg Rottenburg
Definition eine Stadt in Hessen, Deutschland eine Stadt in Baden-Württemberg, Deutschland

Where the eye mixes Rotenburg and Rottenburg

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Rotenburg runs 9 letters (CVCVCCVCC) against Rottenburg's 10 (CVCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
Rotenburg
10 ch
Rottenburg

Look-alike desk: Rotenburg vs Rottenburg

A purely visual mix-up. Rotenburg ([ˈʁoːtn̩ˌbʊʁk]) and Rottenburg ([ˈʁɔtn̩ˌbʊʁk]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43797, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Rotenburg is recorded at frequency rank #19,697, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈʁoːtn̩ˌbʊʁk]. Rottenburg is at rank #24,100, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈʁɔtn̩ˌbʊʁk].

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 43797, this pair ranks #1,406,695 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Rotenburg vs Rottenburg

Shared letters: begnortu. Private to "Rotenburg": -. Private to "Rottenburg": -.

"Rotenburg" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC  ·  "Rottenburg" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Rotenburg ← ortenburg · roetnburg · rotebnurg · rotenbburg · rotenbrug · rotenbugr · rotenburgg · rotenburrg
  • Rottenburg ← orttenburg · rotetnburg · rottebnurg · rottenbburg · rottenbrug · rottenbugr · rottenburgg · rottenburrg

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Rotenburg" and "Rottenburg" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁoːtn̩ˌbʊʁk] versus [ˈʁɔtn̩ˌbʊʁk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Rotenburg" or "Rottenburg"?
"Rotenburg" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,697 in our German list, against #24,100 for "Rottenburg". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Rotenburg" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Rottenburg" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,406,695 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Rotenburg" and "Rottenburg" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Rothenburg vs Rottenburg". 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 #1,406,695 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list