rechtfertigen
[ˈʁɛçtˌfɛʁtɪɡn̩]
The verdict
“rechtfertigen” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #6,583 in German word frequency and used as a verb.
- #6,583
- frequency rank, German
- 13
- letters
- 21
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - begründen, darlegen, warum etwas so, wie es ist, richtig sei
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | rechtfertigen |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [ˈʁɛçtˌfɛʁtɪɡn̩] |
| Letters | 13 |
| Frequency rank | #6,583 |
| Misspellings tracked | 21 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “rechtfertigen” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for rechtfertigen is 13 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈʁɛçtˌfɛʁtɪɡn̩]. Corpus data places it at rank #6,583 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 21 likely wrong-spelling variants for rechtfertigen, with forms such as "erchtfertigen", "rcehtfertigen", and "recchtfertigen". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "rechtfertigt", "rechtfertigte", "Rechtfertigung", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is rechtfertigen, spelled R-E-C-H-T-F-E-R-T-I-G-E-N.
Definition
- 1begründen, darlegen, warum etwas so, wie es ist, richtig sei
- 2Grund genug für etwas sein, einen guten Grund für etwas darstellen
- 3begründen, darlegen, warum man selbst eine bestimmte Entscheidung getroffen oder eine bestimmte Handlung vollzogen oder unterlassen hat
- 4den Eingriff in den Schutzbereich eines Grundrechts begründen; eine tatbestandsmäßige Straftat ausnahmsweise durch deren Rechtfertigungsgrund rechtmäßig stellen
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: erchtfertigen,rcehtfertigen,recchtfertigen,rechftertigen,rechhtfertigen,rechtefrtigen,rechtferitgen,rechtferrtigen,rechtfertgien,rechtfertiegn,rechtfertigenn,rechtfertiggen,rechtfertigne,rechtferttigen,rechtfetrigen,rechtffertigen,rechtfretigen,rechttfertigen,recthfertigen,rehctfertigen,rrechtfertigen
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rechtfertigen - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "rechtfertigen"?
What does "rechtfertigen" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "rechtfertigen"?
How do you pronounce "rechtfertigen"?
What language does "rechtfertigen" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “rechtfertigen”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is R-E-C-H-T-F-E-R-T-I-G-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈʁɛçtˌfɛʁtɪɡn̩] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “rechtfertigt” - see the side-by-side comparison. rechtfertigen vs rechtfertigt
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.