RechtevsrichtWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#891
“Rechte” frequency rank
#37,164
“richt” frequency rank
38055
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Rechte richt
Definition die rechts gelegene Hand 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs richten

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
Rechte
5 ch
richt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Rechte is [ˈʁɛçtə] while richt is [ʁɪçt]. 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 38055, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Rechte is recorded at frequency rank #891, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁɛçtə]. richt is at rank #37,164, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʁɪçt].

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 38055, this pair ranks #1,573,982 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Rechte vs richt

Shared letters: chrt. Private to "Rechte": e. Private to "richt": i.

"Rechte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "richt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Rechteerchte · rcehte · recchte · rechet · rechhte · rechtte · recthe · rehcte
  • richtircht · rciht · riccht · richht · richtt · ricth · rihct · rricht

Frequency comparison

Rechte#891
richt#37,164

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Rechte" and "richt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Rechte" is a noun and "richt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Rechte" or "richt"?
"Rechte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #891 in our German list, against #37,164 for "richt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Rechte vs richt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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