RechteckvsRechtesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,735
“Rechteck” frequency rank
#13,922
“Rechtes” frequency rank
46657
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Rechteck Rechtes
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) Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Recht

Where the eye mixes Rechteck and Rechtes

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

8 ch
Rechteck
7 ch
Rechtes

Why the eye confuses Rechteck with Rechtes

A purely visual mix-up. Rechteck ([ˈʁɛçtˌʔɛk]) and Rechtes ([ˈʁɛçtəs]) 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 46657, 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]. Rechtes is at rank #13,922, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁɛçtəs].

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 46657, this pair ranks #1,311,611 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Rechteck vs Rechtes

Shared letters: cehrt. Private to "Rechteck": k. Private to "Rechtes": s.

"Rechteck" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC  ·  "Rechtes" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Rechteck ← erchteck · rcehteck · recchteck · rechetck · rechhteck · rechtcek · rechtecck · rechteckk
  • Rechtes ← erchtes · rcehtes · recchtes · rechets · rechhtes · rechtess · rechtse · rechttes

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Rechteck" and "Rechtes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁɛçtˌʔɛk] versus [ˈʁɛçtəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Rechteck" or "Rechtes" show up more?
"Rechtes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,922 in our German list, against #32,735 for "Rechteck". 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 "Rechteck" and "Rechtes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Rechteck" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Rechtes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,311,611 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Rechteck" and "Rechtes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Rechteck vs rechtem". 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 #1,311,611 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