Which to use
“gute” and “gütig” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #226
- “gute” frequency rank
- #36,974
- “gütig” frequency rank
- 37200
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gute | gütig |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs gut | jemandem freundlich gesinnt |
Where the eye mixes gute and gütig
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. gute runs 4 letters (CVCV) against gütig's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses gute with gütig
A purely visual mix-up. gute ([ˈɡuːtə]) 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 37200, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gute is recorded at frequency rank #226, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡuːtə]. 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 37200, this pair ranks #1,596,317 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gute vs gütig
Shared letters: gt. Private to "gute": eu. Private to "gütig": iü.
"gute" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "gütig" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gute ← ggute · gtue · guet · gutte · ugte
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gute" and "gütig" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "gute" or "gütig" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gute" 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 #1,596,317 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gute" and "gütig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gotik vs gütig". 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
Confusion rank #1,596,317 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.