rechvsrechenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,224
“rech” frequency rank
#38,966
“rechen” frequency rank
85190
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rech rechen
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs rechen etwas, häufig auf dem Boden Liegendes mit einem Rechen, einer Harke zusammentragen

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
rech
6 ch
rechen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. rech ([ʁɛç]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “rech” sits inside “rechen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 85190, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rech is recorded at frequency rank #46,224, classified as averb, pronounced [ʁɛç]. 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 85190, this pair ranks #112,010 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of rech vs rechen

Shared letters: cehr. Private to "rech": -. Private to "rechen": n.

"rech" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "rechen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recherch · rceh · recch · rechh · rehc · rrech
  • rechenerchen · rcehen · recchen · recehn · rechhen · rehcen · rrechen

Frequency comparison

rech#46,224
rechen#38,966

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rech" and "rechen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʁɛç] versus [ˈʁɛçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "rech" or "rechen"?
"rechen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,966 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 rech vs rechen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “rech” 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