wichtigvswichtigerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#447
“wichtig” frequency rank
#1,531
“wichtiger” frequency rank
1978
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wichtig wichtiger
Definition wesentlich sein, von Gewicht, Bedeutung sein; Gewicht, Bedeutung habend Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs wichtig

Where the eye mixes wichtig and wichtiger

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

7 ch
wichtig
9 ch
wichtiger

Visual trap between wichtig and wichtiger

A purely visual mix-up. wichtig ([ˈvɪçtɪç]) and wichtiger ([ˈvɪçtɪɡɐ]) 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) - “wichtig” sits inside “wichtiger”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1978, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wichtig is recorded at frequency rank #447, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɪçtɪç]. wichtiger is at rank #1,531, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɪçtɪɡɐ].

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 1978, this pair ranks #2,003,341 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wichtig vs wichtiger

Shared letters: cghitw. Private to "wichtig": -. Private to "wichtiger": er.

"wichtig" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "wichtiger" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wichtigiwchtig · wcihtig · wicchtig · wichhtig · wichitg · wichtgi · wichtigg · wichttig
  • wichtigeriwchtiger · wcihtiger · wicchtiger · wichhtiger · wichitger · wichtgier · wichtiegr · wichtigerr

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wichtig" and "wichtiger" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɪçtɪç] versus [ˈvɪçtɪɡɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wichtig" or "wichtiger"?
"wichtig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #447 in our German list, against #1,531 for "wichtiger". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "wichtig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "wichtiger" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,003,341 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "wichtig" and "wichtiger" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Wicht vs wichtig". 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 #2,003,341 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