ruhigvsruhigeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“ruhig” and “ruhige” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,489
“ruhig” frequency rank
#9,082
“ruhige” frequency rank
10571
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ruhig ruhige
Definition von der Arbeit rastend und damit frei von jeder Mühe und Beschäftigung Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs ruhig

Where the eye mixes ruhig and ruhige

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
ruhig
6 ch
ruhige

Look-alike desk: ruhig vs ruhige

A purely visual mix-up. ruhig ([ˈʁuːɪç]) and ruhige ([ˈʁuːɪɡə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “ruhig” sits inside “ruhige”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10571, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ruhig is recorded at frequency rank #1,489, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁuːɪç]. ruhige is at rank #9,082, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁuːɪɡə].

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 10571, this pair ranks #1,974,492 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ruhig vs ruhige

Shared letters: ghiru. Private to "ruhig": -. Private to "ruhige": e.

"ruhig" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "ruhige" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ruhigrhuig · rruhig · ruhgi · ruhhig · ruhigg · ruihg · urhig
  • ruhigerhuige · rruhige · ruhgie · ruhhige · ruhieg · ruhigge · ruihge · urhige

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ruhig" for "ruhige" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁuːɪç] versus [ˈʁuːɪɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "ruhig" or "ruhige" show up more?
"ruhig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,489 in our German list, against #9,082 for "ruhige". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "ruhig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ruhige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,974,492 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ruhig" and "ruhige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ruhige vs rührte". 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 #1,974,492 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list