rasvsrumWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“ras” and “rum” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#18,658
“ras” frequency rank
#42,680
“rum” frequency rank
61338
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ras rum
Definition Igualdad de las cosas en la superficie de ellas, así como en su altura. Ron.

Where the eye mixes ras and rum

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
ras
3 ch
rum

Why the eye confuses ras with rum

A purely visual mix-up. ras ([ˈras]) and rum ([rʌm]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61338, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ras is recorded at frequency rank #18,658, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈras]. rum is at rank #42,680, tagged as anoun, pronounced [rʌm].

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 61338, this pair ranks #55,797 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ras vs rum

Shared letters: r. Private to "ras": as. Private to "rum": mu.

"ras" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "rum" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ras" for "rum" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈras] versus [rʌm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ras" or "rum"?
"ras" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,658 in our Spanish list, against #42,680 for "rum". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "ras" and "rum" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ras" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "rum" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #55,797 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ras" and "rum" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rulo vs rum". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #55,797 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list