richtvsrichtenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#37,164
“richt” frequency rank
#3,275
“richten” frequency rank
40439
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature richt richten
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs richten etwas Krummes gerade machen, geradebiegen, in eine senkrechte Stellung bringen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set richt and richten apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
richt
7 ch
richten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. richt ([ʁɪçt]) and richten ([ˈʁɪçtn̩]) 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) - “richt” sits inside “richten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40439, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

richt is recorded at frequency rank #37,164, classified as averb, pronounced [ʁɪçt]. richten is at rank #3,275, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɪçtn̩].

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 40439, this pair ranks #1,508,483 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of richt vs richten

Shared letters: chirt. Private to "richt": -. Private to "richten": en.

"richt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "richten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • richtircht · rciht · riccht · richht · richtt · ricth · rihct · rricht
  • richtenirchten · rcihten · ricchten · richetn · richhten · richtenn · richtne · richtten

Frequency comparison

richt#37,164
richten#3,275

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "richt" and "richten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʁɪçt] versus [ˈʁɪçtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "richt" or "richten"?
"richten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,275 in our German list, against #37,164 for "richt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering richt vs richten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “richt” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list