Which to use
“berechtigen” and “berichtigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,994
- “berechtigen” frequency rank
- #41,068
- “berichtigen” frequency rank
- 89062
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | berechtigen | berichtigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden mit gewissen Rechten oder Befugnissen ausstatten | die Fehler in etwas entfernen oder diese ansprechen und der richtigen Entsprechung gegenüberstellen |
Where the eye mixes berechtigen and berichtigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. berechtigen and berichtigen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between berechtigen and berichtigen
A purely visual mix-up. berechtigen ([bəˈʁɛçtɪɡn̩]) and berichtigen ([bəˈʁɪçtɪɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - e in “berechtigen” becomes i in “berichtigen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 89062, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
berechtigen is recorded at frequency rank #47,994, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁɛçtɪɡn̩]. berichtigen is at rank #41,068, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁɪçtɪɡn̩].
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 89062, this pair ranks #61,380 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of berechtigen vs berichtigen
Shared letters: bceghinrt. Private to "berechtigen": -. Private to "berichtigen": -.
"berechtigen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCVC · "berichtigen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- berechtigen ← bberechtigen · beerchtigen · bercehtigen · berecchtigen · berechhtigen · berechitgen · berechtgien · berechtiegn
- berichtigen ← bberichtigen · beirchtigen · bercihtigen · bericchtigen · berichhtigen · berichitgen · berichtgien · berichtiegn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "berechtigen" for "berichtigen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "berechtigen" or "berichtigen" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "berechtigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "berichtigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #61,380 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "berechtigen" and "berichtigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "berechtigen vs berechtigtes". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #61,380 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.