Which to use
“rue” and “Rute” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,534
- “rue” frequency rank
- #37,750
- “Rute” frequency rank
- 54284
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rue | Rute |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Reue | meist zusammengebundene lange, dünne und flexible Zweige (ohne Blätter), Gerte |
Where the eye mixes rue and Rute
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between rue and Rute
A purely visual mix-up. rue ([ruː]) and Rute ([ˈʁuːtə]) 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 54284, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rue is recorded at frequency rank #16,534, classified as anoun, pronounced [ruː]. 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 54284, this pair ranks #1,024,798 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of rue vs Rute
Shared letters: eru. Private to "rue": -. Private to "Rute": t.
"rue" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "Rute" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Rute ← rrute · ruet · rutte · urte
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "rue" for "Rute" ever safe?
Frequency check: "rue" vs "Rute" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "rue" 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 #1,024,798 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rue" 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 #1,024,798 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.