Which to use
“Reife” and “Reihen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,416
- “Reife” frequency rank
- #3,843
- “Reihen” frequency rank
- 9259
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Reife | Reihen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vollendung eines Wachstumsprozesses (bei Menschen physisch oder geistig) | veraltete Form für Reigen, also ein Tanzlied |
Where the eye mixes Reife and Reihen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Reife runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against Reihen's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Reife with Reihen
A purely visual mix-up. Reife ([ˈʁaɪ̯fə]) and Reihen ([ˈʁaɪ̯ən]) 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 9259, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Reife is recorded at frequency rank #5,416, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯fə]. Reihen is at rank #3,843, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯ən].
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 9259, this pair ranks #1,980,753 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Reife vs Reihen
Shared letters: eir. Private to "Reife": f. Private to "Reihen": hn.
"Reife" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "Reihen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Reife" for "Reihen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Reife" or "Reihen"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Reife" and "Reihen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Reife" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Reihen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,980,753 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Reife" and "Reihen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reibe vs Reife". 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 #1,980,753 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.