Which to use
“rauchen” and “rechen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,337
- “rauchen” frequency rank
- #38,966
- “rechen” frequency rank
- 42303
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rauchen | rechen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas anzünden und den Rauch einatmen | etwas, häufig auf dem Boden Liegendes mit einem Rechen, einer Harke zusammentragen |
Where the eye mixes rauchen and rechen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. rauchen runs 7 letters (CVVCCVC) against rechen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: rauchen vs rechen
A purely visual mix-up. rauchen ([ˈʁaʊ̯xn̩]) and rechen ([ˈʁɛçn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42303, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rauchen is recorded at frequency rank #3,337, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaʊ̯xn̩]. 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 42303, this pair ranks #1,453,571 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of rauchen vs rechen
Shared letters: cehnr. Private to "rauchen": au. Private to "rechen": -.
"rauchen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "rechen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "rauchen" and "rechen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "rauchen" or "rechen"?
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 "rauchen" 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 #1,453,571 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rauchen" 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 #1,453,571 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.