Which to use
“rotten” is a verb and “Rotwein” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,340
- “rotten” frequency rank
- #13,925
- “Rotwein” frequency rank
- 48265
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rotten | Rotwein |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | faulen, verfallen | aus roten oder blauen Weintrauben hergestellter roter Wein |
Where the eye mixes rotten and Rotwein
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. rotten runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Rotwein's 7 (CVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between rotten and Rotwein
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rotten is [ˈʁɔtn̩] while Rotwein is [ˈʁoːtˌvaɪ̯n]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48265, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rotten is recorded at frequency rank #34,340, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɔtn̩]. Rotwein is at rank #13,925, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁoːtˌvaɪ̯n].
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 48265, this pair ranks #1,254,893 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of rotten vs Rotwein
Shared letters: enort. Private to "rotten": -. Private to "Rotwein": iw.
"rotten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Rotwein" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "rotten" and "Rotwein" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "rotten" or "Rotwein"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "rotten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Rotwein" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,254,893 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rotten" and "Rotwein" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rollten vs rotten". 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 #1,254,893 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.