rare

[ˈʁaːʁə]

/[ˈʁaːʁə]/ adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“rare” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #30,732 in German word frequency and used as an adjective.

#30,732
frequency rank, German
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rar

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

rare vs re
50% similar
rare vs RR
0% similar
rare vs Rat
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for rare
PropertyValue
Headwordrare
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈʁaːʁə]
Letters4
Frequency rank#30,732
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “rare” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). rare lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for rare is 4 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈʁaːʁə]. Corpus data places it at rank #30,732 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for rare, with forms such as "arre", "raer", and "rarre". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "re", "RR", "Rat", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is rare, spelled R-A-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rar
  2. 2
    Akkusativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rar
  3. 3
    Nominativ Plural alle Genera der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rar
  4. 4
    Akkusativ Plural alle Genera der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rar
  5. 5
    Nominativ Singular alle Genera der schwachen Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rar
  6. 6
    Akkusativ Singular Femininum der schwachen Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rar
  7. 7
    Akkusativ Singular Neutrum der schwachen Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rar
  8. 8
    Nominativ Singular Femininum der gemischten Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rar
  9. 9
    Akkusativ Singular Femininum der gemischten Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rar

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: arre,raer,rarre,rrae,rrare

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rare - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

arre2raer2rarre1rrae2rrare1
Edit distance from "rare"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "rare"?
"rare" is spelled R-A-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʁaːʁə].
What does "rare" mean?
As an adjective, "rare" means: Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rar
What words are commonly confused with "rare"?
"rare" is commonly confused with "re", "RR", "Rat". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "rare"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rare" is [ˈʁaːʁə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "rare" come from?
"rare" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “rare”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is R-A-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈʁaːʁə] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “re” - see the side-by-side comparison. rare vs re
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

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