richtenvsRichternWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: richten is a verb, Richtern is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“richten” is a verb and “Richtern” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,275
“richten” frequency rank
#19,692
“Richtern” frequency rank
22967
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature richten Richtern
Definition etwas Krummes gerade machen, geradebiegen, in eine senkrechte Stellung bringen Dativ Plural des Substantivs Richter

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set richten and Richtern apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
richten
8 ch
Richtern

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: richten is [ˈʁɪçtn̩] while Richtern is [ˈʁɪçtɐn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22967, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

richten is recorded at frequency rank #3,275, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʁɪçtn̩]. Richtern is at rank #19,692, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁɪçtɐn].

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 22967, this pair ranks #1,867,422 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of richten vs Richtern

Shared letters: cehinrt. Private to "richten": -. Private to "Richtern": -.

"richten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "Richtern" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • richtenirchten · rcihten · ricchten · richetn · richhten · richtenn · richtne · richtten
  • Richternirchtern · rcihtern · ricchtern · richetrn · richhtern · richtenr · richternn · richterrn

Frequency comparison

richten#3,275
Richtern#19,692

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "richten" and "Richtern" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "richten" is a verb and "Richtern" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "richten" or "Richtern"?
"richten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,275 in our German list, against #19,692 for "Richtern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering richten vs Richtern

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “richten”; for a noun, it's “Richtern”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “richten” 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