redetevsresteWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: redete is a verb, reste is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“redete” is a verb and “reste” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,978
“redete” frequency rank
#6,843
“reste” frequency rank
22821
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature redete reste
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs reden Rest, Übriges

Where the eye mixes redete and reste

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
redete
5 ch
reste

Why the eye confuses redete with reste

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: redete is [ˈʁeːdətə] while reste is [ʁɛst]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22821, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

redete is recorded at frequency rank #15,978, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁeːdətə]. reste is at rank #6,843, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʁɛst].

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 22821, this pair ranks #1,869,322 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of redete vs reste

Shared letters: ert. Private to "redete": d. Private to "reste": s.

"redete" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "reste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • redeteerdete · rdeete · reddete · redeet · redette · redtee · reedte · rredete
  • restereset · resste · restte · retse · rreste · rsete

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "redete" for "reste" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "redete" is a verb and "reste" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "redete" or "reste" show up more?
"reste" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,843 in our German list, against #15,978 for "redete". 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 "redete" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "reste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,869,322 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "redete" and "reste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "regst vs reste". 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 #1,869,322 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