re

[ʁeː]

/[ʁeː]/ particle

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

The verdict

“re” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #4,150) as a particle. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#4,150
frequency rank, German
2,984
“R” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - beim Solmisieren oder Solfeggieren benutzte Silbe zum Singen eines bestimmten Tons aus der Tonleiter

Corpus desk

Index DE-re · re · German

re · rank #4,150 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,150
  • LEN-SHORT 2 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,984
  • PHOTO-FINISH quer

Nearest frequency peer: quer (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “re”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “re” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

re vs Rn
0% similar
re vs Rs
0% similar
re vs RV
0% similar

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

Key facts for re
PropertyValue
Headwordre
LanguageGerman
Part of speechParticle
IPA[ʁeː]
Letters2
Frequency rank#4,150
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “re” sits in German frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).re lands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for re is neighbouring look-alikes ("Rn", "Rs", …), not just typos; it is aparticle pronounced [ʁeː]. Frequency #4,150 among 2,984 “R” headwords. Gloss: "beim Solmisieren oder Solfeggieren benutzte Silbe zum Singen eines bestimmten Tons aus der Tonleiter".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for re, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Rn", "Rs", "RV", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is re, spelled R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    beim Solmisieren oder Solfeggieren benutzte Silbe zum Singen eines bestimmten Tons aus der Tonleiter

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how re appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Beim Solmisieren benutzt man die Tonsilben do, re, mi, fa, sol, la und si.

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "re"?
"re" is spelled R-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ʁeː].
What does "re" mean?
As a particle, "re" means: beim Solmisieren oder Solfeggieren benutzte Silbe zum Singen eines bestimmten Tons aus der Tonleiter
What words are commonly confused with "re"?
"re" is commonly confused with "Rn", "Rs", "RV". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "re"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "re" is [ʁeː]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "re" come from?
"re" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

What to do next

You've looked up "re". Here's where to go from here.

  • "re" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Rn". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #4,150 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "R" letter cohort. R–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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