rechvsreitWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#46,224
“rech” frequency rank
#25,734
“reit” frequency rank
71958
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rech reit
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs rechen 2. Person Singular Präsens Imperativ Aktiv des Verbs reiten (auch reite)

Where the eye mixes rech and reit

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. rech (CVCC) and reit (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
rech
4 ch
reit

Why the eye confuses rech with reit

A purely visual mix-up. rech ([ʁɛç]) and reit ([ʁaɪ̯t]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71958, 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]. reit is at rank #25,734, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʁaɪ̯t].

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 71958, this pair ranks #401,865 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of rech vs reit

Shared letters: er. Private to "rech": ch. Private to "reit": it.

"rech" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "reit" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rech ← erch · rceh · recch · rechh · rehc · rrech
  • reit ← erit · reitt · reti · rreit

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "rech" for "reit" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʁɛç] versus [ʁaɪ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "rech" vs "reit" - which ranks higher?
"reit" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,734 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.

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 "rech" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "reit" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #401,865 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rech" and "reit" 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 #401,865 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