ReckvsReisWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#27,465
“Reck” frequency rank
#5,419
“Reis” frequency rank
32884
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Reck Reis
Definition Turngerät für Männer, das aus zwei senkrechten Stangen und einer Querstange besteht weißes, gekocht gegessenes Getreide

Where the eye mixes Reck and Reis

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Reck (CVCC) and Reis (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
Reck
4 ch
Reis

Why the eye confuses Reck with Reis

A purely visual mix-up. Reck ([ʁɛk]) and Reis ([ʁaɪ̯s]) 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 32884, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Reck is recorded at frequency rank #27,465, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʁɛk]. Reis is at rank #5,419, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʁaɪ̯s].

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 32884, this pair ranks #1,697,959 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Reck vs Reis

Shared letters: er. Private to "Reck": ck. Private to "Reis": is.

"Reck" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Reis" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Reckerck · rcek · recck · reckk · rekc · rreck
  • Reiseris · reiss · resi · rreis

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Reck" for "Reis" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʁɛk] versus [ʁaɪ̯s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Reck" vs "Reis" - which ranks higher?
"Reis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,419 in our German list, against #27,465 for "Reck". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Reck" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Reis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,697,959 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Reck" and "Reis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rack vs Reck". 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 #1,697,959 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