rechenvsreichenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,966
“rechen” frequency rank
#1,568
“reichen” frequency rank
40534
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rechen reichen
Definition etwas, häufig auf dem Boden Liegendes mit einem Rechen, einer Harke zusammentragen jemandem etwas geben

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set rechen and reichen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
rechen
7 ch
reichen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. rechen ([ˈʁɛçn̩]) and reichen ([ˈʁaɪ̯çn̩]) 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 40534, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rechen is recorded at frequency rank #38,966, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɛçn̩]. reichen is at rank #1,568, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯çn̩].

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 40534, this pair ranks #1,505,675 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of rechen vs reichen

Shared letters: cehnr. Private to "rechen": -. Private to "reichen": i.

"rechen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "reichen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rechenerchen · rcehen · recchen · recehn · rechhen · rehcen · rrechen
  • reichenerichen · recihen · reicchen · reicehn · reichenn · reichhen · reichne · reihcen

Frequency comparison

rechen#38,966
reichen#1,568

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rechen" and "reichen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁɛçn̩] versus [ˈʁaɪ̯çn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "rechen" or "reichen"?
"reichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,568 in our German list, against #38,966 for "rechen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering rechen vs reichen

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 “rechen” 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