rechtzeitigvsrechtzeitigeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,476
“rechtzeitig” frequency rank
#38,359
“rechtzeitige” frequency rank
41835
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rechtzeitig rechtzeitige
Definition zur rechten Zeit, genau zur richtigen Zeit (eintretend) Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs rechtzeitig

Where the eye mixes rechtzeitig and rechtzeitige

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence.

11 ch
rechtzeitig
12 ch
rechtzeitige

Visual trap between rechtzeitig and rechtzeitige

A purely visual mix-up. rechtzeitig ([ˈʁɛçtˌt͡saɪ̯tɪç]) and rechtzeitige ([ˈʁɛçtˌt͡saɪ̯tɪɡə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “rechtzeitig” sits inside “rechtzeitige”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41835, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rechtzeitig is recorded at frequency rank #3,476, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁɛçtˌt͡saɪ̯tɪç]. rechtzeitige is at rank #38,359, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁɛçtˌt͡saɪ̯tɪɡə].

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 41835, this pair ranks #1,467,645 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of rechtzeitig vs rechtzeitige

Shared letters: ceghirtz. Private to "rechtzeitig": -. Private to "rechtzeitige": -.

"rechtzeitig" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVVCVC  ·  "rechtzeitige" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCVVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rechtzeitigerchtzeitig · rcehtzeitig · recchtzeitig · rechhtzeitig · rechtezitig · rechttzeitig · rechtzeiitg · rechtzeitgi
  • rechtzeitigeerchtzeitige · rcehtzeitige · recchtzeitige · rechhtzeitige · rechtezitige · rechttzeitige · rechtzeiitge · rechtzeitgie

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "rechtzeitig" for "rechtzeitige" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁɛçtˌt͡saɪ̯tɪç] versus [ˈʁɛçtˌt͡saɪ̯tɪɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "rechtzeitig" vs "rechtzeitige" - which ranks higher?
"rechtzeitig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,476 in our German list, against #38,359 for "rechtzeitige". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "rechtzeitig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "rechtzeitige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,467,645 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • 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 #1,467,645 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