reichevsrichtWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#4,153
“reiche” frequency rank
#37,164
“richt” frequency rank
41317
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reiche richt
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs reichen 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs richten

Where the eye mixes reiche and richt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. reiche runs 6 letters (CVVCCV) against richt's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
reiche
5 ch
richt

Visual trap between reiche and richt

A purely visual mix-up. reiche ([ˈʁaɪ̯çə]) and richt ([ʁɪçt]) 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 41317, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reiche is recorded at frequency rank #4,153, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯çə]. richt is at rank #37,164, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʁɪçt].

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 41317, this pair ranks #1,483,076 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of reiche vs richt

Shared letters: chir. Private to "reiche": e. Private to "richt": t.

"reiche" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "richt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • reiche ← eriche · recihe · reicche · reiceh · reichhe · reihce · rreiche
  • richt ← ircht · rciht · riccht · richht · richtt · ricth · rihct · rricht

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "reiche" and "richt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁaɪ̯çə] versus [ʁɪçt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "reiche" or "richt"?
"reiche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,153 in our German list, against #37,164 for "richt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "reiche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "richt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,483,076 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "reiche" and "richt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rech vs richt". 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 #1,483,076 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