RauchvsrechWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#5,110
“Rauch” frequency rank
#46,224
“rech” frequency rank
51334
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Rauch rech
Definition durch thermische Verbrennung entstehende Gase, Dämpfe und Partikel (als Schwebeteilchen in der Luft) 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs rechen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Rauch and rech apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Rauch
4 ch
rech

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Rauch is [ʁaʊ̯x] while rech is [ʁɛç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51334, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Rauch is recorded at frequency rank #5,110, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʁaʊ̯x]. rech is at rank #46,224, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʁɛç].

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 51334, this pair ranks #1,139,444 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Rauch vs rech

Shared letters: chr. Private to "Rauch": au. Private to "rech": e.

"Rauch" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "rech" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Raucharuch · racuh · raucch · rauchh · rauhc · rrauch · ruach
  • recherch · rceh · recch · rechh · rehc · rrech

Frequency comparison

Rauch#5,110
rech#46,224

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Rauch" and "rech" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Rauch" is a noun and "rech" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Rauch" or "rech"?
"Rauch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,110 in our German list, against #46,224 for "rech". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Rauch vs rech

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Rauch”; for a verb, it's “rech”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Rauch” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list