Which to use
“retour” is an adverb and “Retter” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,593
- “retour” frequency rank
- #11,955
- “Retter” frequency rank
- 48548
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retour | Retter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zurück, wieder zum Ausgangspunkt oder in den Ausgangszustand | jemand, der einem anderen Hilfe leistet, ihn oder etwas rettet |
Where the eye mixes retour and Retter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. retour (CVCVVC) and Retter (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between retour and Retter
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: retour is [ʁəˈtuːɐ̯] while Retter is [ˈʁɛtɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48548, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
retour is recorded at frequency rank #36,593, classified as anadv, pronounced [ʁəˈtuːɐ̯]. Retter is at rank #11,955, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁɛtɐ].
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 48548, this pair ranks #1,244,440 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of retour vs Retter
Shared letters: ert. Private to "retour": ou. Private to "Retter": -.
"retour" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "Retter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "retour" and "Retter" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "retour" or "Retter"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "retour" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Retter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,244,440 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retour" and "Retter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "retour vs Rotor". 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 #1,244,440 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.