wichtigervswichtigsterConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,531
“wichtiger” frequency rank
#22,216
“wichtigster” frequency rank
23747
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wichtiger wichtigster
Definition Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs wichtig Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs wichtig

Where the eye mixes wichtiger and wichtigster

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. wichtiger runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCVC) against wichtigster's 11 (CVCCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
wichtiger
11 ch
wichtigster

Look-alike desk: wichtiger vs wichtigster

A purely visual mix-up. wichtiger ([ˈvɪçtɪɡɐ]) and wichtigster ([ˈvɪçtɪçstɐ]) 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 23747, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wichtiger is recorded at frequency rank #1,531, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɪçtɪɡɐ]. wichtigster is at rank #22,216, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɪçtɪçstɐ].

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 23747, this pair ranks #1,857,099 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wichtiger vs wichtigster

Shared letters: ceghirtw. Private to "wichtiger": -. Private to "wichtigster": s.

"wichtiger" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC  ·  "wichtigster" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wichtigeriwchtiger · wcihtiger · wicchtiger · wichhtiger · wichitger · wichtgier · wichtiegr · wichtigerr
  • wichtigsteriwchtigster · wcihtigster · wicchtigster · wichhtigster · wichitgster · wichtgister · wichtiggster · wichtigsetr

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "wichtiger" for "wichtigster" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɪçtɪɡɐ] versus [ˈvɪçtɪçstɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wichtiger" or "wichtigster"?
"wichtiger" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,531 in our German list, against #22,216 for "wichtigster". 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 "wichtiger" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "wichtigster" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,857,099 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "wichtiger" and "wichtigster" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wichtigster 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 #1,857,099 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