Which to use
“recken” is a verb and “Retten” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,416
- “recken” frequency rank
- #2,122
- “Retten” frequency rank
- 43538
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | recken | Retten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in Längsrichtung dehnen/strecken | das Abwenden eines lebensbedrohlichen Zustandes durch lebensrettende Maßnahmen und/oder durch Befreien aus einer lebensbedrohlichen Zwangslage |
Where the eye mixes recken and Retten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: recken vs Retten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: recken is [ˈʁɛkn̩] while Retten is [ˈʁɛtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43538, 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]. Retten is at rank #2,122, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁɛtn̩].
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 43538, this pair ranks #1,414,937 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of recken vs Retten
Shared letters: enr. Private to "recken": ck. Private to "Retten": t.
"recken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Retten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "recken" and "Retten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "recken" vs "Retten" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "recken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Retten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,414,937 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "recken" and "Retten" 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 #1,414,937 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.