realenvsreellenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“realen” and “reellen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,713
“realen” frequency rank
#34,880
“reellen” frequency rank
41593
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature realen reellen
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs real Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs reell

Where the eye mixes realen and reellen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. realen runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against reellen's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
realen
7 ch
reellen

Why the eye confuses realen with reellen

A purely visual mix-up. realen ([ʁeˈaːlən]) and reellen ([ʁeˈɛlən]) 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 41593, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

realen is recorded at frequency rank #6,713, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʁeˈaːlən]. reellen is at rank #34,880, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʁeˈɛlən].

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 41593, this pair ranks #1,474,823 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of realen vs reellen

Shared letters: elnr. Private to "realen": a. Private to "reellen": -.

"realen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "reellen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • realen ← eralen · raelen · reaeln · realenn · reallen · realne · relaen · rrealen
  • reellen ← erellen · reeleln · reelen · reellenn · reellne · relelen · rellen · rreellen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "realen" and "reellen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʁeˈaːlən] versus [ʁeˈɛlən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "realen" or "reellen"?
"realen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,713 in our German list, against #34,880 for "reellen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "realen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "reellen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,474,823 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "realen" and "reellen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reellen vs Rillen". 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 #1,474,823 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