gültigvsgütigWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,432
“gültig” frequency rank
#36,974
“gütig” frequency rank
43406
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gültig gütig
Definition Geltung besitzend jemandem freundlich gesinnt

Where the eye mixes gültig and gütig

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. gültig runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against gütig's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
gültig
5 ch
gütig

Look-alike desk: gültig vs gütig

A purely visual mix-up. gültig ([ˈɡʏltɪç]) and gütig ([ˈɡyːtɪç]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43406, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gültig is recorded at frequency rank #6,432, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʏltɪç]. gütig is at rank #36,974, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡyːtɪç].

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 43406, this pair ranks #1,419,148 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gültig vs gütig

Shared letters: gitü. Private to "gültig": l. Private to "gütig": -.

"gültig" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "gütig" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gültig" for "gütig" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡʏltɪç] versus [ˈɡyːtɪç]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gültig" vs "gütig" - which ranks higher?
"gültig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,432 in our German list, against #36,974 for "gütig". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "gültig" and "gütig" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gültig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gütig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,419,148 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gültig" and "gütig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gotik vs gütig". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,419,148 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list