Which to use
“Rune” is a noun and “runs” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,805
- “Rune” frequency rank
- #40,182
- “runs” frequency rank
- 80987
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Rune | runs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | älteste Schriftzeichen der Germanen | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs run |
Where the eye mixes Rune and runs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Rune (CVCV) and runs (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: Rune vs runs
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Rune is [ˈʁuːnə] while runs is [ɹʌnz]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “Rune” becomes s in “runs”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80987, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Rune is recorded at frequency rank #40,805, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁuːnə]. 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 80987, this pair ranks #184,599 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Rune vs runs
Shared letters: nru. Private to "Rune": e. Private to "runs": s.
"Rune" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "runs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Rune" and "runs" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Rune" or "runs"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Rune" and "runs" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Rune" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "runs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #184,599 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Rune" and "runs" 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 #184,599 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.