RutschvsrutschteWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#19,025
“Rutsch” frequency rank
#20,722
“rutschte” frequency rank
39747
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Rutsch rutschte
Definition Gleiten, Schlittern über den Erdboden 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs rutschen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Rutsch and rutschte apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Rutsch
8 ch
rutschte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Rutsch is [ʁʊt͡ʃ] while rutschte is [ˈʁʊt͡ʃtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Rutsch” sits inside “rutschte”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39747, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Rutsch is recorded at frequency rank #19,025, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʁʊt͡ʃ]. rutschte is at rank #20,722, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁʊt͡ʃtə].

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 39747, this pair ranks #1,528,064 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Rutsch vs rutschte

Shared letters: chrstu. Private to "Rutsch": -. Private to "rutschte": e.

"Rutsch" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC  ·  "rutschte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Rutschrrutsch · rtusch · rustch · rutcsh · rutscch · rutschh · rutshc · rutssch
  • rutschterrutschte · rtuschte · rustchte · rutcshte · rutscchte · rutschet · rutschhte · rutschtte

Frequency comparison

Rutsch#19,025
rutschte#20,722

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Rutsch" and "rutschte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Rutsch" is a noun and "rutschte" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Rutsch" or "rutschte"?
"Rutsch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,025 in our German list, against #20,722 for "rutschte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Rutsch vs rutschte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Rutsch”; for a verb, it's “rutschte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Rutsch” 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