rue vs run, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“rue” is a noun and “run” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,801
“rue” frequency rank: #309
“run” frequency rank: 14110
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	rue	run
Definition	Sorrow; repentance; regret.	To move swiftly.

Where the eye mixes rue and run

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch

rue

3 ch

run

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rue is /ɹuː/ while run is /ɹʌn/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “rue” becomes n in “run”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14110, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rue is recorded at frequency rank #13,801, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹuː/. run is at rank #309, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹʌn/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 14110, this pair ranks #471,987 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of rue vs run

Shared letters: ru. Private to "rue": e. Private to "run": n.

"rue" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "run" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rue" and "run" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "rue" is a noun and "run" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "rue" or "run"?

"run" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #309 in our English list, against #13,801 for "rue". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "rue" and "run". Here's where to go from here.

Full dictionary entry for "rue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "run" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #471,987 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"rue" and "run" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Rua vs rue". Nearby pair

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