Rebus

[ˈʁeːbʊs]

/[ˈʁeːbʊs]/ noun

The verdict

“Rebus” is uncommon German (frequency #85,736 among 42,116 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#85,736
frequency rank, German
42,116
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Rätsel aus aneinandergereihten Bildchen von Gegenständen mit einzelnen (zum Teil durchgestrichenen) Buchstaben, manchmal auch Ziffern, dazwischen; daraus soll ein Wort erraten werden, das mit den d...

Key facts for Rebus
PropertyValue
HeadwordRebus
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈʁeːbʊs]
Letters5
Frequency rank#85,736
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Rebus” 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). Rebus lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

Rebus is uncommon German at frequency #85,736 among 42,116 “R” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈʁeːbʊs]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Rätsel aus aneinandergereihten Bildchen von Gegenständen mit einzelnen (zum Teil durchgestrichenen) Buchstaben, manchmal auch Ziffern, dazwischen; daraus soll ein Wort erraten werden, das mit den d...".

Zero misspellings are on record for Rebus in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is Rebus, spelled R-E-B-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Rätsel aus aneinandergereihten Bildchen von Gegenständen mit einzelnen (zum Teil durchgestrichenen) Buchstaben, manchmal auch Ziffern, dazwischen; daraus soll ein Wort erraten werden, das mit den dargestellten Dingen inhaltlich nichts zu tun hat

Synonyms

This word in other languages

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 "Rebus"?
"Rebus" is spelled R-E-B-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʁeːbʊs].
What does "Rebus" mean?
As a noun, "Rebus" means: Rätsel aus aneinandergereihten Bildchen von Gegenständen mit einzelnen (zum Teil durchgestrichenen) Buchstaben, manchmal auch Ziffern, dazwischen; daraus soll ein Wort erraten werden, das mit den d...
How do you pronounce "Rebus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Rebus" is [ˈʁeːbʊs]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Rebus" come from?
"Rebus" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “Rebus”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is R-E-B-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈʁeːbʊs] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Other uncommon German words near this rank

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