rechtenvsreckenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,090
“rechten” frequency rank
#41,416
“recken” frequency rank
42506
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rechten recken
Definition sich (verbal) mit jemandem über oder um etwas streiten (um sein Recht zu behaupten); für sein Recht einstehen, sein Recht von jemandem fordern in Längsrichtung dehnen/strecken

Where the eye mixes rechten and recken

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. rechten runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against recken's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
rechten
6 ch
recken

Look-alike desk: rechten vs recken

A purely visual mix-up. rechten ([ˈʁɛçtn̩]) and recken ([ˈʁɛkn̩]) 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 42506, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rechten is recorded at frequency rank #1,090, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɛçtn̩]. recken is at rank #41,416, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɛkn̩].

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 42506, this pair ranks #1,447,199 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of rechten vs recken

Shared letters: cenr. Private to "rechten": ht. Private to "recken": k.

"rechten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "recken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rechten ← erchten · rcehten · recchten · rechetn · rechhten · rechtenn · rechtne · rechtten
  • recken ← ercken · rceken · reccken · recekn · reckenn · reckken · reckne · rekcen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rechten" and "recken" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁɛçtn̩] versus [ˈʁɛkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "rechten" or "recken"?
"rechten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,090 in our German list, against #41,416 for "recken". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "rechten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "recken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,447,199 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rechten" and "recken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "recken vs Rückens". 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 #1,447,199 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