rettetvsrettetenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,104
“rettet” frequency rank
#37,161
“retteten” frequency rank
44265
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rettet retteten
Definition 3. Person Singular Präsens Indikativ des Verbs retten 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs retten

Where the eye mixes rettet and retteten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. rettet runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against retteten's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
rettet
8 ch
retteten

Look-alike desk: rettet vs retteten

A purely visual mix-up. rettet ([ˈʁɛtət]) and retteten ([ˈʁɛtətn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “rettet” sits inside “retteten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44265, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rettet is recorded at frequency rank #7,104, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɛtət]. retteten is at rank #37,161, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɛtətn̩].

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 44265, this pair ranks #1,391,717 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of rettet vs retteten

Shared letters: ert. Private to "rettet": -. Private to "retteten": n.

"rettet" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "retteten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • retteterttet · retet · retett · rettett · rettte · rrettet · rtetet
  • rettetenertteten · reteten · retetten · retteetn · rettetenn · rettetne · rettetten · rettteen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "rettet" for "retteten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁɛtət] versus [ˈʁɛtətn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "rettet" vs "retteten" - which ranks higher?
"rettet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,104 in our German list, against #37,161 for "retteten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "rettet" and "retteten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "rettet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "retteten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,391,717 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rettet" and "retteten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "redeten vs retteten". 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 #1,391,717 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