Which to use
“Rechteck” is a noun and “rechteckig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,735
- “Rechteck” frequency rank
- #40,784
- “rechteckig” frequency rank
- 73519
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Rechteck | rechteckig |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | geometrische Figur mit vier Seiten, bei der die gegenüberliegenden Seiten parallel zueinander verlaufen und benachbarte Seiten rechtwinklig aufeinanderstehen (also ein Parallelogramm mit 4 rechten Winkeln) | die Form eines Rechtecks habend |
Where the eye mixes Rechteck and rechteckig
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Rechteck runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCC) against rechteckig's 10 (CVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Rechteck and rechteckig
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Rechteck is [ˈʁɛçtˌʔɛk] while rechteckig is [ˈʁɛçtʔɛkɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Rechteck” sits inside “rechteckig”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73519, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Rechteck is recorded at frequency rank #32,735, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁɛçtˌʔɛk]. rechteckig is at rank #40,784, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁɛçtʔɛkɪç].
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 73519, this pair ranks #358,226 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Rechteck vs rechteckig
Shared letters: cehkrt. Private to "Rechteck": -. Private to "rechteckig": gi.
"Rechteck" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC · "rechteckig" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Rechteck ← erchteck · rcehteck · recchteck · rechetck · rechhteck · rechtcek · rechtecck · rechteckk
- rechteckig ← erchteckig · rcehteckig · recchteckig · rechetckig · rechhteckig · rechtcekig · rechtecckig · rechtecikg
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Rechteck" for "rechteckig" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Rechteck" or "rechteckig"?
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 "Rechteck" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rechteckig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #358,226 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Rechteck" and "rechteckig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rechteckig vs rechteckige". 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 #358,226 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.