RuinevsrunsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Ruine is a noun, runs is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Ruine” is a noun and “runs” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#16,535
“Ruine” frequency rank
#40,182
“runs” frequency rank
56717
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ruine runs
Definition teilweise eingestürztes, verfallenes oder zerstörtes Bauwerk 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs run

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Ruine and runs apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Ruine
4 ch
runs

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Ruine is [ʁuˈiːnə] while runs is [ɹʌnz]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56717, 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]. runs is at rank #40,182, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɹʌnz].

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 56717, this pair ranks #929,348 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Ruine vs runs

Shared letters: nru. Private to "Ruine": ei. Private to "runs": s.

"Ruine" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "runs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Ruineriune · rruine · ruien · runie · urine
  • runsrnus · rruns · runns · runss · rusn · urns

Frequency comparison

Ruine#16,535
runs#40,182

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Ruine" and "runs" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Ruine" is a noun and "runs" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Ruine" or "runs"?
"Ruine" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,535 in our German list, against #40,182 for "runs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Ruine vs runs

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Ruine”; for a verb, it's “runs”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Ruine” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list