Which to use
“rein” is an adjective and “reite” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #605
- “rein” frequency rank
- #37,746
- “reite” frequency rank
- 38351
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rein | reite |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ganz unverschmutzt | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs reiten |
Where the eye mixes rein and reite
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. rein runs 4 letters (CVVC) against reite's 5 (CVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses rein with reite
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rein is [ʁaɪ̯n] while reite is [ˈʁaɪ̯tə]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38351, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rein is recorded at frequency rank #605, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʁaɪ̯n]. reite is at rank #37,746, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯tə].
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 38351, this pair ranks #1,566,248 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of rein vs reite
Shared letters: eir. Private to "rein": n. Private to "reite": t.
"rein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "reite" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "rein" and "reite" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "rein" or "reite" show up more?
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 "rein" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reite" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,566,248 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rein" and "reite" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ragte vs reite". 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 #1,566,248 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.