richtigvsrichtigeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#244
“richtig” frequency rank
#841
“richtige” frequency rank
1085
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature richtig richtige
Definition der Wirklichkeit entsprechend, wahr, nicht falsch Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs richtig

Where the eye mixes richtig and richtige

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. richtig runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against richtige's 8 (CVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
richtig
8 ch
richtige

Visual trap between richtig and richtige

A purely visual mix-up. richtig ([ˈʁɪçtɪç]) and richtige ([ˈʁɪçtɪɡə]) 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) - “richtig” sits inside “richtige”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1085, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

richtig is recorded at frequency rank #244, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁɪçtɪç]. richtige is at rank #841, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁɪçtɪɡə].

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 1085, this pair ranks #2,004,932 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of richtig vs richtige

Shared letters: cghirt. Private to "richtig": -. Private to "richtige": e.

"richtig" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "richtige" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • richtigirchtig · rcihtig · ricchtig · richhtig · richitg · richtgi · richtigg · richttig
  • richtigeirchtige · rcihtige · ricchtige · richhtige · richitge · richtgie · richtieg · richtigge

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "richtig" and "richtige" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁɪçtɪç] versus [ˈʁɪçtɪɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "richtig" or "richtige"?
"richtig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #244 in our German list, against #841 for "richtige". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "richtig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "richtige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,004,932 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "richtig" and "richtige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "richtige vs richtigem". 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 #2,004,932 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