Which to use
“re” is a particle and “rech” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,150
- “re” frequency rank
- #46,224
- “rech” frequency rank
- 50374
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | re | rech |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | beim Solmisieren oder Solfeggieren benutzte Silbe zum Singen eines bestimmten Tons aus der Tonleiter | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs rechen |
Where the eye mixes re and rech
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses re with rech
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: re is [ʁeː] while rech is [ʁɛç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “re” sits inside “rech”, and the parts of speech differ too (particle vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50374, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
re is recorded at frequency rank #4,150, classified as aparticle, pronounced [ʁeː]. 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 50374, this pair ranks #1,176,061 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of re vs rech
Shared letters: er. Private to "re": -. Private to "rech": ch.
"re" · 2 letters · shape CV · "rech" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- rech ← erch · rceh · recch · rechh · rehc · rrech
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "re" for "rech" ever safe?
Frequency check: "re" vs "rech" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "re" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rech" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,176,061 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "re" and "rech" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rack vs rech". 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 #1,176,061 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.