RebenvsreckenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#28,820
“Reben” frequency rank
#41,416
“recken” frequency rank
70236
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Reben recken
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Rebe in Längsrichtung dehnen/strecken

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Reben and recken apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Reben
6 ch
recken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Reben is [ˈʁeːbn̩] while recken is [ˈʁɛkn̩]. 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 70236, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Reben is recorded at frequency rank #28,820, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁeːbn̩]. recken is at rank #41,416, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɛkn̩].

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 70236, this pair ranks #452,414 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Reben vs recken

Shared letters: enr. Private to "Reben": b. Private to "recken": ck.

"Reben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "recken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Rebenrbeen · rebben · rebenn · rebne · reebn · rreben
  • reckenercken · rceken · reccken · recekn · reckenn · reckken · reckne · rekcen

Frequency comparison

Reben#28,820
recken#41,416

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Reben" and "recken" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Reben" is a noun and "recken" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Reben" or "recken"?
"Reben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,820 in our German list, against #41,416 for "recken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Reben vs recken

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Reben”; for a verb, it's “recken”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Reben” 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