Which to use
“rächen” and “rechen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,734
- “rächen” frequency rank
- #38,966
- “rechen” frequency rank
- 54700
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rächen | rechen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem für eine als Unrecht empfundene Tat eines anderen Genugtuung verschaffen, indem man diesem ebenfalls einen Nachteil zufügt | etwas, häufig auf dem Boden Liegendes mit einem Rechen, einer Harke zusammentragen |
Same sound, different letters: rächen vs rechen
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 5 letters. rächen and rechen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Same sound, different spelling - rächen / rechen
This is the hard kind. rächen and rechen are pronounced identically ([ˈʁɛçn̩]) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by a single letter - ä in “rächen” becomes e in “rechen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54700, 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]. rechen is at rank #38,966, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɛçn̩].
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 54700, this pair ranks #1,008,574 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of rächen vs rechen
Shared letters: cehnr. Private to "rächen": ä. Private to "rechen": -.
"rächen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "rechen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- rechen ← erchen · rcehen · recchen · recehn · rechhen · rehcen · rrechen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "rächen" and "rechen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "rächen" vs "rechen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
You've separated the homophone pair "rächen" / "rechen". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "rächen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rechen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,008,574 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rächen" and "rechen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "recent vs rechen". 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 #1,008,574 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.