redetevsretteteConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#15,978
“redete” frequency rank
#12,998
“rettete” frequency rank
28976
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature redete rettete
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs reden 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs retten

Where the eye mixes redete and rettete

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. redete runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against rettete's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
redete
7 ch
rettete

Why the eye confuses redete with rettete

A purely visual mix-up. redete ([ˈʁeːdətə]) and rettete ([ˈʁɛtətə]) 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 28976, 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]. rettete is at rank #12,998, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɛtətə].

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 28976, this pair ranks #1,775,241 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of redete vs rettete

Shared letters: ert. Private to "redete": d. Private to "rettete": -.

"redete" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "rettete" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • redeteerdete · rdeete · reddete · redeet · redette · redtee · reedte · rredete
  • retteteerttete · retete · retette · retteet · rettette · retttee · rrettete · rtetete

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "redete" for "rettete" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁeːdətə] versus [ˈʁɛtətə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "redete" or "rettete" show up more?
"rettete" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,998 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.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "redete" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "rettete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,775,241 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "redete" and "rettete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "redete vs reite". 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 #1,775,241 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