Which to use
“rufen” and “ruft” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,512
- “rufen” frequency rank
- #2,318
- “ruft” frequency rank
- 4830
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rufen | ruft |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einem Ruf jemanden auffordern, etwas zu tun (zum Beispiel zu kommen oder zu antworten) | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs rufen |
Where the eye mixes rufen and ruft
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: rufen vs ruft
A purely visual mix-up. rufen ([ˈʁuːfn̩]) and ruft ([ʁuːft]) 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 4830, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rufen is recorded at frequency rank #2,512, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁuːfn̩]. ruft is at rank #2,318, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʁuːft].
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 4830, this pair ranks #1,996,549 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of rufen vs ruft
Shared letters: fru. Private to "rufen": en. Private to "ruft": t.
"rufen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "ruft" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "rufen" and "ruft" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "rufen" or "ruft" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "rufen" and "ruft" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "rufen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ruft" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,996,549 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rufen" and "ruft" 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 #1,996,549 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.