Which to use
“rotten” and “rütteln” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,340
- “rotten” frequency rank
- #25,744
- “rütteln” frequency rank
- 60084
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rotten | rütteln |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | faulen, verfallen | etwas mit kleinen, schnellen Stößen bewegen |
Where the eye mixes rotten and rütteln
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses rotten with rütteln
A purely visual mix-up. rotten ([ˈʁɔtn̩]) and rütteln ([ˈʁʏtl̩n]) 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 60084, 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]. rütteln is at rank #25,744, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁʏtl̩n].
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 60084, this pair ranks #800,237 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of rotten vs rütteln
Shared letters: enrt. Private to "rotten": o. Private to "rütteln": lü.
"rotten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "rütteln" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- rotten ← rotetn · rottenn · rottne · rrotten · rtoten
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "rotten" and "rütteln" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "rotten" vs "rütteln" - 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 "rotten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rütteln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #800,237 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rotten" and "rütteln" 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 #800,237 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.