reichstevsreichstenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#28,823
“reichste” frequency rank
#14,907
“reichsten” frequency rank
43730
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reichste reichsten
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs reich Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs reich

Where the eye mixes reichste and reichsten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. reichste runs 8 letters (CVVCCCCV) against reichsten's 9 (CVVCCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
reichste
9 ch
reichsten

Why the eye confuses reichste with reichsten

A purely visual mix-up. reichste ([ˈʁaɪ̯çstə]) and reichsten ([ˈʁaɪ̯çstn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “reichste” sits inside “reichsten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43730, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reichste is recorded at frequency rank #28,823, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯çstə]. reichsten is at rank #14,907, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯çstn̩].

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 43730, this pair ranks #1,408,753 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of reichste vs reichsten

Shared letters: cehirst. Private to "reichste": -. Private to "reichsten": n.

"reichste" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCCV  ·  "reichsten" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • reichsteerichste · recihste · reicchste · reichhste · reichset · reichsste · reichstte · reichtse
  • reichstenerichsten · recihsten · reicchsten · reichhsten · reichsetn · reichssten · reichstenn · reichstne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "reichste" for "reichsten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁaɪ̯çstə] versus [ˈʁaɪ̯çstn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "reichste" or "reichsten"?
"reichsten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,907 in our German list, against #28,823 for "reichste". 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 "reichste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "reichsten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,408,753 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "reichste" and "reichsten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reichsten 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 #1,408,753 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