wichtigevswichtigsteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,173
“wichtige” frequency rank
#2,475
“wichtigste” frequency rank
3648
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wichtige wichtigste
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs wichtig Nominativ Singular Femininum Superlativ der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs wichtig

Where the eye mixes wichtige and wichtigste

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. wichtige runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCV) against wichtigste's 10 (CVCCCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
wichtige
10 ch
wichtigste

Visual trap between wichtige and wichtigste

A purely visual mix-up. wichtige ([ˈvɪçtɪɡə]) and wichtigste ([ˈvɪçtɪçstə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3648, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wichtige is recorded at frequency rank #1,173, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɪçtɪɡə]. wichtigste is at rank #2,475, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɪçtɪçstə].

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 3648, this pair ranks #1,999,717 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wichtige vs wichtigste

Shared letters: ceghitw. Private to "wichtige": -. Private to "wichtigste": s.

"wichtige" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV  ·  "wichtigste" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wichtigeiwchtige · wcihtige · wicchtige · wichhtige · wichitge · wichtgie · wichtieg · wichtigge
  • wichtigsteiwchtigste · wcihtigste · wicchtigste · wichhtigste · wichitgste · wichtgiste · wichtiggste · wichtigset

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "wichtige" and "wichtigste" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɪçtɪɡə] versus [ˈvɪçtɪçstə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "wichtige" vs "wichtigste" - which ranks higher?
"wichtige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,173 in our German list, against #2,475 for "wichtigste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "wichtige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "wichtigste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,999,717 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "wichtige" and "wichtigste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wichtigste vs wichtigstes". 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 #1,999,717 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