rächenvsRächerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: rächen is a verb, Rächer is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#15,734
“rächen” frequency rank
#42,777
“Rächer” frequency rank
58511
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rächen Rächer
Definition jemandem für eine als Unrecht empfundene Tat eines anderen Genugtuung verschaffen, indem man diesem ebenfalls einen Nachteil zufügt jemand, der Rache ausübt (der sich oder jemand anders rächt)

Where the eye mixes rächen and Rächer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. rächen and Rächer follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
rächen
6 ch
Rächer

Visual trap between rächen and Rächer

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rächen is [ˈʁɛçn̩] while Rächer is [ˈʁɛçɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “rächen” becomes r in “Rächer”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58511, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rächen is recorded at frequency rank #15,734, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɛçn̩]. Rächer is at rank #42,777, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁɛçɐ].

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 58511, this pair ranks #859,955 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of rächen vs Rächer

Shared letters: cehrä. Private to "rächen": n. Private to "Rächer": -.

"rächen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Rächer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rächen" and "Rächer" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "rächen" is a verb and "Rächer" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "rächen" or "Rächer"?
"rächen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,734 in our German list, against #42,777 for "Rächer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "rächen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Rächer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #859,955 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rächen" and "Rächer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Rächer vs Rauscher". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #859,955 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list