Which to use
“Ruine” and “Rune” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,535
- “Ruine” frequency rank
- #40,805
- “Rune” frequency rank
- 57340
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ruine | Rune |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | teilweise eingestürztes, verfallenes oder zerstörtes Bauwerk | älteste Schriftzeichen der Germanen |
Where the eye mixes Ruine and Rune
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Ruine runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against Rune's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Ruine and Rune
A purely visual mix-up. Ruine ([ʁuˈiːnə]) and Rune ([ˈʁuːnə]) 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 57340, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Ruine is recorded at frequency rank #16,535, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʁuˈiːnə]. Rune is at rank #40,805, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁuːnə].
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 57340, this pair ranks #905,040 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Ruine vs Rune
Shared letters: enru. Private to "Ruine": i. Private to "Rune": -.
"Ruine" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "Rune" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Ruine" and "Rune" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Ruine" or "Rune"?
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 "Ruine" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Rune" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #905,040 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Ruine" and "Rune" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "RUB vs Rune". 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 #905,040 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.