Which to use
“rechtlich” and “rechtlichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,643
- “rechtlich” frequency rank
- #4,151
- “rechtlichen” frequency rank
- 9794
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rechtlich | rechtlichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | das Recht betreffend; gesetzlich | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rechtlich |
Where the eye mixes rechtlich and rechtlichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. rechtlich runs 9 letters (CVCCCCVCC) against rechtlichen's 11 (CVCCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses rechtlich with rechtlichen
A purely visual mix-up. rechtlich ([ˈʁɛçtlɪç]) and rechtlichen ([ˈʁɛçtlɪçn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “rechtlich” sits inside “rechtlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9794, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rechtlich is recorded at frequency rank #5,643, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁɛçtlɪç]. rechtlichen is at rank #4,151, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁɛçtlɪçn̩].
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 9794, this pair ranks #1,978,266 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of rechtlich vs rechtlichen
Shared letters: cehilrt. Private to "rechtlich": -. Private to "rechtlichen": n.
"rechtlich" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCCVCC · "rechtlichen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- rechtlich ← erchtlich · rcehtlich · recchtlich · rechhtlich · rechltich · rechtilch · rechtlcih · rechtlicch
- rechtlichen ← erchtlichen · rcehtlichen · recchtlichen · rechhtlichen · rechltichen · rechtilchen · rechtlcihen · rechtlicchen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "rechtlich" for "rechtlichen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "rechtlich" or "rechtlichen" show up more?
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 "rechtlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rechtlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,978,266 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rechtlich" and "rechtlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rechtlich vs rechtliches". 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 #1,978,266 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.