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 eye mixes Retten and rettet
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Retten with rettet
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Retten is [ˈʁɛtn̩] while rettet is [ˈʁɛtət]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “Retten” becomes t in “rettet”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. 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.
Orthographic DNA of Retten vs rettet
Shared letters: ert. Private to "Retten": n. Private to "rettet": -.
"Retten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "rettet" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Retten" and "rettet" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Retten" or "rettet"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Retten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rettet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,980,895 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Retten" and "rettet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rettet vs rüttelt". 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 #1,980,895 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.