redetenvsRettenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#29,749
“redeten” frequency rank
#2,122
“Retten” frequency rank
31871
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature redeten Retten
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs reden das Abwenden eines lebensbedrohlichen Zustandes durch lebensrettende Maßnahmen und/oder durch Befreien aus einer lebensbedrohlichen Zwangslage

Where the eye mixes redeten and Retten

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

7 ch
redeten
6 ch
Retten

Why the eye confuses redeten with Retten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: redeten is [ˈʁeːdətn̩] while Retten is [ˈʁɛtn̩]. 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 31871, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

redeten is recorded at frequency rank #29,749, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁeːdətn̩]. 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 31871, this pair ranks #1,719,334 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of redeten vs Retten

Shared letters: enrt. Private to "redeten": d. Private to "Retten": -.

"redeten" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "Retten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • redetenerdeten · rdeeten · reddeten · redeetn · redetenn · redetne · redetten · redteen
  • Rettenertten · reten · retetn · rettenn · rettne · rretten

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "redeten" for "Retten" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "redeten" is a verb and "Retten" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "redeten" or "Retten" show up more?
"Retten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,122 in our German list, against #29,749 for "redeten". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "redeten" 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 #1,719,334 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "redeten" and "Retten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "redeten vs retteten". 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 #1,719,334 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