rechtenvsredetenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,090
“rechten” frequency rank
#29,749
“redeten” frequency rank
30839
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rechten redeten
Definition sich (verbal) mit jemandem über oder um etwas streiten (um sein Recht zu behaupten); für sein Recht einstehen, sein Recht von jemandem fordern 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs reden

Where the eye mixes rechten and redeten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. rechten (CVCCCVC) and redeten (CVCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
rechten
7 ch
redeten

Look-alike desk: rechten vs redeten

A purely visual mix-up. rechten ([ˈʁɛçtn̩]) and redeten ([ˈʁeːdətn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30839, 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]. redeten is at rank #29,749, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁeːdətn̩].

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 30839, this pair ranks #1,740,038 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of rechten vs redeten

Shared letters: enrt. Private to "rechten": ch. Private to "redeten": d.

"rechten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "redeten" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rechten ← erchten · rcehten · recchten · rechetn · rechhten · rechtenn · rechtne · rechtten
  • redeten ← erdeten · rdeeten · reddeten · redeetn · redetenn · redetne · redetten · redteen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "rechten" for "redeten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁɛçtn̩] versus [ˈʁeːdətn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "rechten" vs "redeten" - which ranks higher?
"rechten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,090 in our German list, against #29,749 for "redeten". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "rechten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "redeten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,740,038 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rechten" and "redeten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "redeten vs retteten". 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 #1,740,038 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