ReichesvsreichtenTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#5,213
“Reiches” frequency rank
#16,527
“reichten” frequency rank
21740
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Reiches reichten
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Reich 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs reichen

Where the eye mixes Reiches and reichten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Reiches runs 7 letters (CVVCCVC) against reichten's 8 (CVVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Reiches
8 ch
reichten

Look-alike desk: Reiches vs reichten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Reiches is [ˈʁaɪ̯çəs] while reichten is [ˈʁaɪ̯çtn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21740, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Reiches is recorded at frequency rank #5,213, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯çəs]. reichten is at rank #16,527, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯çtn̩].

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 21740, this pair ranks #1,882,702 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Reiches vs reichten

Shared letters: cehir. Private to "Reiches": s. Private to "reichten": nt.

"Reiches" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "reichten" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Reiches ← eriches · recihes · reicches · reicehs · reichess · reichhes · reichse · reihces
  • reichten ← recihten · reicchten · reichetn · reichhten · reichtenn · reichtne · reichtten · reicthen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Reiches" and "reichten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Reiches" is a noun and "reichten" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Reiches" or "reichten"?
"Reiches" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,213 in our German list, against #16,527 for "reichten". 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 "Reiches" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "reichten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,882,702 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Reiches" and "reichten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reichten vs reinsten". 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 #1,882,702 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