Which to use
“Retten” is a noun and “rettet” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,122
- “Retten” frequency rank
- #7,104
- “rettet” frequency rank
- 9226
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Retten | rettet |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | das Abwenden eines lebensbedrohlichen Zustandes durch lebensrettende Maßnahmen und/oder durch Befreien aus einer lebensbedrohlichen Zwangslage | 3. Person Singular Präsens Indikativ des Verbs retten |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Retten and rettet apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Retten and rettet form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - n in “Retten” becomes t in “rettet” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9226, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Retten is recorded at frequency rank #2,122, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁɛtn̩]. rettet is at rank #7,104, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɛtət].
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 9226, this pair ranks #1,980,895 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Retten" and "rettet" be used interchangeably?
Remembering Retten vs rettet
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Retten”; for a verb, it's “rettet”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Retten” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable