reitvsreizeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,734
“reit” frequency rank
#21,037
“reize” frequency rank
46771
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reit reize
Definition 2. Person Singular Präsens Imperativ Aktiv des Verbs reiten (auch reite) 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs reizen

Where the eye mixes reit and reize

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. reit runs 4 letters (CVVC) against reize's 5 (CVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
reit
5 ch
reize

Look-alike desk: reit vs reize

A purely visual mix-up. reit ([ʁaɪ̯t]) and reize ([ˈʁaɪ̯t͡sə]) 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 46771, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reit is recorded at frequency rank #25,734, classified as averb, pronounced [ʁaɪ̯t]. reize is at rank #21,037, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯t͡sə].

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 46771, this pair ranks #1,307,586 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of reit vs reize

Shared letters: eir. Private to "reit": t. Private to "reize": z.

"reit" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "reize" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • reiterit · reitt · reti · rreit
  • reizeerize · reiez · reizze · rezie · rieze · rreize

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "reit" for "reize" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʁaɪ̯t] versus [ˈʁaɪ̯t͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "reit" or "reize"?
"reize" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,037 in our German list, against #25,734 for "reit". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "reit" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "reize" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,307,586 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "reit" and "reize" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "regst vs reit". 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 #1,307,586 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