rechtensvsrichtenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: rechtens is a adverb, richten is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“rechtens” is an adverb and “richten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#24,893
“rechtens” frequency rank
#3,275
“richten” frequency rank
28168
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rechtens richten
Definition mit dem gültigen Recht vereinbar etwas Krummes gerade machen, geradebiegen, in eine senkrechte Stellung bringen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set rechtens and richten apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
rechtens
7 ch
richten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rechtens is [ˈʁɛçtn̩s] while richten is [ˈʁɪçtn̩]. 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 (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28168, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rechtens is recorded at frequency rank #24,893, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈʁɛçtn̩s]. richten is at rank #3,275, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɪçtn̩].

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 28168, this pair ranks #1,789,387 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of rechtens vs richten

Shared letters: cehnrt. Private to "rechtens": s. Private to "richten": i.

"rechtens" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC  ·  "richten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rechtenserchtens · rcehtens · recchtens · rechetns · rechhtens · rechtenns · rechtenss · rechtesn
  • richtenirchten · rcihten · ricchten · richetn · richhten · richtenn · richtne · richtten

Frequency comparison

rechtens#24,893
richten#3,275

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rechtens" and "richten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "rechtens" is an adverb and "richten" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "rechtens" or "richten"?
"richten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,275 in our German list, against #24,893 for "rechtens". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering rechtens vs richten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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