RezeptvsRezepturTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,541
“Rezept” frequency rank
#37,162
“Rezeptur” frequency rank
40703
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Rezept Rezeptur
Definition Anleitung zur Mischung, Mischreihenfolge und Verarbeitung von Substanzen, um eine Speise oder Anderes zuzubereiten Anweisungen zur Herstellung eines Medikaments, Zusammensetzung eines Medikaments

Where the eye mixes Rezept and Rezeptur

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

6 ch
Rezept
8 ch
Rezeptur

Why the eye confuses Rezept with Rezeptur

A purely visual mix-up. Rezept ([ʁeˈt͡sɛpt]) and Rezeptur ([ʁet͡sɛpˈtuːɐ̯]) 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) - “Rezept” sits inside “Rezeptur”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40703, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Rezept is recorded at frequency rank #3,541, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʁeˈt͡sɛpt]. Rezeptur is at rank #37,162, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʁet͡sɛpˈtuːɐ̯].

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 40703, this pair ranks #1,500,887 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Rezept vs Rezeptur

Shared letters: eprtz. Private to "Rezept": -. Private to "Rezeptur": u.

"Rezept" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "Rezeptur" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Rezepterzept · reezpt · rezeppt · rezeptt · rezetp · rezpet · rezzept · rrezept
  • Rezepturerzeptur · reezptur · rezepptur · rezeptru · rezepttur · rezepturr · rezeputr · rezetpur

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Rezept" for "Rezeptur" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʁeˈt͡sɛpt] versus [ʁet͡sɛpˈtuːɐ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Rezept" vs "Rezeptur" - which ranks higher?
"Rezept" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,541 in our German list, against #37,162 for "Rezeptur". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Rezept" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Rezeptur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,500,887 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Rezept" and "Rezeptur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Rezeptor vs Rezeptur". 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 #1,500,887 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