rüttelnvsrütteltWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“rütteln” and “rüttelt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#25,744
“rütteln” frequency rank
#48,438
“rüttelt” frequency rank
74182
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rütteln rüttelt
Definition etwas mit kleinen, schnellen Stößen bewegen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs rütteln

Where the eye mixes rütteln and rüttelt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
rütteln
7 ch
rüttelt

Visual trap between rütteln and rüttelt

A purely visual mix-up. rütteln ([ˈʁʏtl̩n]) and rüttelt ([ˈʁʏtl̩t]) 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 a single letter - n in “rütteln” becomes t in “rüttelt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74182, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rütteln is recorded at frequency rank #25,744, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁʏtl̩n]. rüttelt is at rank #48,438, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁʏtl̩t].

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 74182, this pair ranks #340,262 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of rütteln vs rüttelt

Shared letters: elrtü. Private to "rütteln": n. Private to "rüttelt": -.

"rütteln" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "rüttelt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "rütteln" and "rüttelt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁʏtl̩n] versus [ˈʁʏtl̩t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "rütteln" or "rüttelt"?
"rütteln" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,744 in our German list, against #48,438 for "rüttelt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "rütteln" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "rüttelt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #340,262 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rütteln" and "rüttelt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rüstet vs rüttelt". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #340,262 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