Which to use
“rufen” and “rühren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,512
- “rufen” frequency rank
- #10,554
- “rühren” frequency rank
- 13066
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rufen | rühren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einem Ruf jemanden auffordern, etwas zu tun (zum Beispiel zu kommen oder zu antworten) | sich bewegen |
Where the eye mixes rufen and rühren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. rufen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against rühren's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: rufen vs rühren
A purely visual mix-up. rufen ([ˈʁuːfn̩]) and rühren ([ˈʁyːʁən]) 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 13066, 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]. rühren is at rank #10,554, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁyːʁən].
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 13066, this pair ranks #1,960,327 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of rufen vs rühren
Shared letters: enr. Private to "rufen": fu. Private to "rühren": hü.
"rufen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "rühren" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- rufen ← rfuen · rrufen · ruefn · rufenn · ruffen · rufne · urfen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "rufen" and "rühren" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "rufen" or "rühren"?
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 "rufen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rühren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,960,327 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rufen" and "rühren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rühmen vs rühren". 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 #1,960,327 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.