Rutengänger

[ˈʁuːtn̩ˌɡɛŋɐ]

/[ˈʁuːtn̩ˌɡɛŋɐ]/ noun

The verdict

“Rutengänger” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - (männliche^☆) Person, die mit Hilfe einer Wünschelrute nach Erz- oder Wasseradern sucht

Corpus desk

Index DE-rutenganger · Rutengänger · German

Rutengänger · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "R" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for Rutengänger
PropertyValue
HeadwordRutengänger
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈʁuːtn̩ˌɡɛŋɐ]
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „Rutengänger“ im Deutschen

Rutengängerliegt außerhalb der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Wörter, im Langschwanz technischer, archaischer oder seltener Formen, genau dort, wo Schreibzweifeln zuschlagen.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Rutengänger is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈʁuːtn̩ˌɡɛŋɐ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "(männliche^☆) Person, die mit Hilfe einer Wünschelrute nach Erz- oder Wasseradern sucht".

Rutengänger doesn't appear in our generated misspelling 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, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is Rutengänger, spelled R-U-T-E-N-G-Ä-N-G-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    (männliche^☆) Person, die mit Hilfe einer Wünschelrute nach Erz- oder Wasseradern sucht

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. „Hier war Laura Leonore im Jahr 1979 auf einen alten Mann namens Karl Bausin gestoßen, einen ehemaligen Sattler, der schon lange in Pension lebte und ein passionierter Rutengänger war.“
  2. „Richard schnitt sich aus einem in vollem Saft stehenden, grünen Busch einen gegabelten Zweig, fasste ihn an den Zinken und versuchte sich als Rutengänger.“

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Rutengänger"?
"Rutengänger" is spelled R-U-T-E-N-G-Ä-N-G-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʁuːtn̩ˌɡɛŋɐ].
What does "Rutengänger" mean?
As a noun, "Rutengänger" means: (männliche^☆) Person, die mit Hilfe einer Wünschelrute nach Erz- oder Wasseradern sucht
How do you pronounce "Rutengänger"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Rutengänger" is [ˈʁuːtn̩ˌɡɛŋɐ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Rutengänger" come from?
"Rutengänger" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list