rechnenvsrechneteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,262
“rechnen” frequency rank
#20,710
“rechnete” frequency rank
22972
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rechnen rechnete
Definition Zahlen logisch verknüpfen, Mathematik anwenden 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs rechnen

Where the eye mixes rechnen and rechnete

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. rechnen runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against rechnete's 8 (CVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
rechnen
8 ch
rechnete

Visual trap between rechnen and rechnete

A purely visual mix-up. rechnen ([ˈʁɛçnən]) and rechnete ([ˈʁɛçnətə]) 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 22972, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rechnen is recorded at frequency rank #2,262, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɛçnən]. rechnete is at rank #20,710, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɛçnətə].

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 22972, this pair ranks #1,867,361 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of rechnen vs rechnete

Shared letters: cehnr. Private to "rechnen": -. Private to "rechnete": t.

"rechnen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "rechnete" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rechnen ← erchnen · rcehnen · recchnen · rechenn · rechhnen · rechnenn · rechnne · rechnnen
  • rechnete ← erchnete · rcehnete · recchnete · rechente · rechhnete · rechneet · rechnette · rechnnete

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "rechnen" for "rechnete" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁɛçnən] versus [ˈʁɛçnətə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "rechnen" vs "rechnete" - which ranks higher?
"rechnen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,262 in our German list, against #20,710 for "rechnete". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "rechnen" and "rechnete" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "rechnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "rechnete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,867,361 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rechnen" and "rechnete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Rechnern vs rechnete". 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 #1,867,361 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