rechtlichevsrechtlichenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#4,550
“rechtliche” frequency rank
#4,151
“rechtlichen” frequency rank
8701
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rechtliche rechtlichen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs rechtlich Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rechtlich

Where the eye mixes rechtliche and rechtlichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. rechtliche runs 10 letters (CVCCCCVCCV) against rechtlichen's 11 (CVCCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
rechtliche
11 ch
rechtlichen

Look-alike desk: rechtliche vs rechtlichen

A purely visual mix-up. rechtliche ([ˈʁɛçtlɪçə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “rechtliche” sits inside “rechtlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8701, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rechtliche is recorded at frequency rank #4,550, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁɛçtlɪçə]. 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 8701, this pair ranks #1,983,208 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of rechtliche vs rechtlichen

Shared letters: cehilrt. Private to "rechtliche": -. Private to "rechtlichen": n.

"rechtliche" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCV  ·  "rechtlichen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rechtlicheerchtliche · rcehtliche · recchtliche · rechhtliche · rechltiche · rechtilche · rechtlcihe · rechtlicche
  • rechtlichenerchtlichen · rcehtlichen · recchtlichen · rechhtlichen · rechltichen · rechtilchen · rechtlcihen · rechtlicchen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "rechtliche" and "rechtlichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁɛçtlɪçə] versus [ˈʁɛçtlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "rechtliche" or "rechtlichen"?
"rechtlichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,151 in our German list, against #4,550 for "rechtliche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "rechtliche" 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 #1,983,208 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rechtliche" and "rechtlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rechtliche 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 #1,983,208 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