rau
German, adjective/ʁaʊ̯/
rau is spelled R-A-U (3 letters) and appears 4.5 times per million words in written German, the 13,339th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Rau is a German adjective meaning “rough” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “nicht glatt, mit unebener, unbearbeiteter Oberfläche, Beschaffenheit”.
What does rau mean in English?
adjective
- 1
rough
- 2
obsoletehirsute, hairy
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. nicht glatt, mit unebener, unbearbeiteter Oberfläche, Beschaffenheit 2. unwirtlich aufgrund der kargen Gegend und/oder des ungenehmen, kalten Klimas 3. sich grob, unfreundlich verhaltend; ohne Benehmen 4. heiser, kratzig wirkend
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of rau
- rauer masculine nominative singular
- am rauesten superlative
- am rausten superlative
- raue feminine nominative singular
- raues neuter nominative singular
- rauen genitive masculine singular
- rauem dative masculine singular
- der raue definite includes-article masculine
- die raue definite feminine includes-article
- das raue definite includes-article neuter
- die rauen definite includes-article nominative
- des rauen definite genitive includes-article
- der rauen definite feminine genitive
- dem rauen dative definite includes-article
- rauh obsolete
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce rau?
- /ʁaʊ̯/
- [ʁaʊ̯]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to rau
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is rau in German?
rau appears 4.5 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).