richtigvsrichtigesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#244
“richtig” frequency rank
#6,966
“richtiges” frequency rank
7210
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature richtig richtiges
Definition der Wirklichkeit entsprechend, wahr, nicht falsch Formen des Positivs des Adjektivs richtig: ** Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Flexion ** Akkusativ Singular Neutrum der starken Flexion ** Nominativ Singular Neutrum der gemischten Flexion ** Akkusativ Singular Neutrum der gemischten Flexion

Where the eye mixes richtig and richtiges

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. richtig runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against richtiges's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
richtig
9 ch
richtiges

Why the eye confuses richtig with richtiges

A purely visual mix-up. richtig ([ˈʁɪçtɪç]) and richtiges ([ˈʁɪçtɪɡəs]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “richtig” sits inside “richtiges”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7210, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

richtig is recorded at frequency rank #244, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁɪçtɪç]. richtiges is at rank #6,966, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁɪçtɪɡəs].

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 7210, this pair ranks #1,989,002 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of richtig vs richtiges

Shared letters: cghirt. Private to "richtig": -. Private to "richtiges": es.

"richtig" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "richtiges" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • richtigirchtig · rcihtig · ricchtig · richhtig · richitg · richtgi · richtigg · richttig
  • richtigesirchtiges · rcihtiges · ricchtiges · richhtiges · richitges · richtgies · richtiegs · richtigess

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "richtig" and "richtiges" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁɪçtɪç] versus [ˈʁɪçtɪɡəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "richtig" or "richtiges"?
"richtig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #244 in our German list, against #6,966 for "richtiges". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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 "richtiges" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,989,002 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "richtig" and "richtiges" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "richtigem vs richtiges". 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 #1,989,002 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