richtenvsRichtungWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#3,275
“richten” frequency rank
#510
“Richtung” frequency rank
3785
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature richten Richtung
Definition etwas Krummes gerade machen, geradebiegen, in eine senkrechte Stellung bringen Position, Wirkungs- oder Bewegungsziel eines Gegenstandes

Where the eye mixes richten and Richtung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
richten
8 ch
Richtung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: richten is [ˈʁɪçtn̩] while Richtung is [ˈʁɪçtʊŋ]. 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 3785, 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]. Richtung is at rank #510, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁɪçtʊŋ].

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 3785, this pair ranks #1,999,375 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of richten vs Richtung

Shared letters: chinrt. Private to "richten": e. Private to "Richtung": gu.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • richtenirchten · rcihten · ricchten · richetn · richhten · richtenn · richtne · richtten
  • Richtungirchtung · rcihtung · ricchtung · richhtung · richtnug · richttung · richtugn · richtungg

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "richten" and "Richtung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "richten" is a verb and "Richtung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "richten" or "Richtung"?
"Richtung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #510 in our German list, against #3,275 for "richten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "richten" and "Richtung". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "richten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Richtung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,999,375 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "richten" and "Richtung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rechtem vs richten". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list