Which to use
“ruhen” is a verb and “Runen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,268
- “ruhen” frequency rank
- #32,242
- “Runen” frequency rank
- 40510
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ruhen | Runen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich erholen, eine Pause machen | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Rune |
Where the eye mixes ruhen and Runen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between ruhen and Runen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ruhen is [ˈʁuːən] while Runen is [ˈʁuːnən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - h in “ruhen” becomes n in “Runen”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40510, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ruhen is recorded at frequency rank #8,268, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁuːən]. Runen is at rank #32,242, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁuːnən].
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 40510, this pair ranks #1,506,368 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ruhen vs Runen
Shared letters: enru. Private to "ruhen": h. Private to "Runen": -.
"ruhen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "Runen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ruhen" for "Runen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ruhen" or "Runen"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "ruhen" and "Runen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ruhen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Runen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,506,368 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ruhen" and "Runen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rühmen vs Runen". 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 #1,506,368 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.