Which to use
“recken” and “reichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,416
- “recken” frequency rank
- #1,568
- “reichen” frequency rank
- 42984
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | recken | reichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in Längsrichtung dehnen/strecken | jemandem etwas geben |
Where the eye mixes recken and reichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between recken and reichen
A purely visual mix-up. recken ([ˈʁɛkn̩]) and reichen ([ˈʁaɪ̯çn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42984, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
recken is recorded at frequency rank #41,416, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɛkn̩]. reichen is at rank #1,568, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯çn̩].
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 42984, this pair ranks #1,432,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of recken vs reichen
Shared letters: cenr. Private to "recken": k. Private to "reichen": hi.
"recken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "reichen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "recken" and "reichen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "recken" or "reichen"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "recken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,432,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "recken" and "reichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "recken vs Rückens". 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 #1,432,240 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.