recht haben

[ˈʁɛçt ˌhaːbn̩]

/[ˈʁɛçt ˌhaːbn̩]/ verb

The verdict

“recht haben” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - im Recht sein; etwas der Wahrheit Entsprechendes äußern

Corpus desk

Index DE-recht-haben · recht haben · German

recht haben · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "R" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for recht haben
PropertyValue
Headwordrecht haben
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈʁɛçt ˌhaːbn̩]
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „recht haben“ im Deutschen

recht habenliegt außerhalb der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Wörter, im Langschwanz technischer, archaischer oder seltener Formen, genau dort, wo Schreibzweifeln zuschlagen.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

recht haben is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed [ˈʁɛçt ˌhaːbn̩]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "im Recht sein; etwas der Wahrheit Entsprechendes äußern".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for recht haben, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is recht haben, spelled R-E-C-H-T- -H-A-B-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    im Recht sein; etwas der Wahrheit Entsprechendes äußern

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how recht haben appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Und ich habe doch recht!

Synonyms

Antonyms

unrecht habenirrendaneben liegenschief liegenfalsch liegen

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "recht haben"?
"recht haben" is spelled R-E-C-H-T- -H-A-B-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʁɛçt ˌhaːbn̩].
What does "recht haben" mean?
As a verb, "recht haben" means: im Recht sein; etwas der Wahrheit Entsprechendes äußern
How do you pronounce "recht haben"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "recht haben" is [ˈʁɛçt ˌhaːbn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "recht haben" come from?
"recht haben" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list