RundenvsrunterWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Runden is a noun, runter is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Runden” is a noun and “runter” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,069
“Runden” frequency rank
#1,937
“runter” frequency rank
5006
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Runden runter
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Runde herunter; nach unten

Where the eye mixes Runden and runter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Runden
6 ch
runter

Look-alike desk: Runden vs runter

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Runden is [ˈʁʊndn̩] while runter is [ˈʁʊntɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5006, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Runden is recorded at frequency rank #3,069, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁʊndn̩]. runter is at rank #1,937, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈʁʊntɐ].

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 5006, this pair ranks #1,996,055 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Runden vs runter

Shared letters: enru. Private to "Runden": d. Private to "runter": t.

"Runden" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "runter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Rundenrnuden · rrunden · rudnen · rundden · rundenn · rundne · runedn · runnden
  • runterrnuter · rrunter · runetr · runnter · runterr · runtre · runtter · rutner

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Runden" for "runter" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Runden" is a noun and "runter" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Runden" vs "runter" - which ranks higher?
"runter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,937 in our German list, against #3,069 for "Runden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Runden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "runter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,996,055 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Runden" and "runter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rühmen vs Runden". 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 #1,996,055 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