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Etymology and origin of the German word richtig

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1000, Notker
Inherited from
Middle High German rihtec

Pronunciation

  • /ˈʁɪçtɪç/[1]
  • Austria, Southern-Germany, Switzerland: /ˈʁɪçtɪk/[1]

Forms

richtig (strong nominative masculine singular richtiger, comparative richtiger, superlative am richtigsten)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German rihtec, inherited from Old High German rihtīg, formed with the suffix -ig.[2][3][1] Since the adjective first meant “straight, aligned by the plumb line”, Kluge and Pfeifer take its base to be the verb richten, and think a derivation directly from the adjective recht less likely.[2][3] The Duden, the Grimms' dictionary and Wiktionary derive it from that adjective, with which it agrees closely in its development of meaning.[4][5][1] Adelung allowed either base.[6]

The Duden describes the word as confined to the German-speaking area;[4] Pfeifer adds Middle Low German richtich and Middle Dutch rechtich.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German rihtīg is recorded around 1000 in Notker, meaning “straight, directed”: in his psalms rihtig werdan ze renders Latin dirigi ad, to be directed towards God's commandments.[7][8][5] Middle High German rihtec meant “straight, put in proper order, good, upright”.[3][9]

Semantic evolution

The physical sense “straight” was always rare.[5] Gottfried's Tristan has eine rihtige slihte made out of a bend, and Luther's was krumm ist, soll richtig werden (Luke 3:5) still meant “straight”;[5][6][10] Adelung called this sense obsolete in High German.[5][6][10] Phrases like der richtige Weg show the transition to the modern meanings, and older ones like es ist richtig “it is agreed” and die Zeche richtig machen “to pay the bill” are now dated.[10]

Most present uses date from the 18th century: “correct, true”, the opposite of falsch, “real, proper” (ein richtiger Bauer), and an intensifier (sich richtig ausschlafen).[10][4] Sehr richtig! became a parliamentary interjection from the Frankfurt National Assembly of 1848 on, and the questioning …, richtig? at the end of a sentence probably spread through dubbed American films (English right?).[10] The noun Richtigkeit dates from the first half of the 15th century and became common in the 18th, when berichtigen “to correct” also appeared.[3][10] Hungarian borrowed richtig “really” in 1764, and dialectal Czech and Polish have rychtyk.[11][1]

Timeline

  • c. 1000 – Old High German rihtīg in Notker.[7]
  • c. 1210 – Middle High German rihtec in Gottfried's Tristan.[9][5]
  • 1425 – Richtigkeit is first recorded.[10]
  • 1764 – Hungarian richtig “really” is recorded.[11]
  • 18th century – Berichtigen appears and most modern senses become established.[3][10]
  • 1848 – Sehr richtig! becomes a parliamentary interjection.[10]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. correct, true to the facts, not mistaken: die richtige Antwort.[12][1]
  2. Without error or inaccuracy: die Rechnung ist richtig;[12] meine Uhr geht wieder richtig (keeps good time again).[12]
  3. Most suitable, appropriate: im richtigen Augenblick.[12][1]
  4. Real, proper, genuine: ein richtiger Sommer.[1][10]
  5. (colloquial) In nicht (ganz) richtig (im Kopf) sein: not quite in one's right mind.[10]

Adverb

  1. Really, thoroughly: wir haben uns richtig gefreut.[1][10]

Word family

  • Richtigkeit
  • berichtigen
  • aufrichtig
  • richtigstellen

Usage notes

Richtig! and Sehr richtig! are used as replies expressing agreement.[12][10] Richtig in the sense “correct” is the usual opposite of falsch.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 766
  3. ^ a b c d e f Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  4. ^ a b c d Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 695
  5. ^ a b c d e f Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 14, 896
  6. ^ a b c Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
  7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  8. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 261
  9. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  11. ^ a b Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de
  12. ^ a b c d e Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag

Related etymologies

  • dass · also from Old High German
  • nach · also from Old High German
  • können · also from Old High German
  • dieser · also from Old High German
  • bei · also from Old High German
  • als · also from Old High German
  • auch · also from Old High German
  • er · also from Old High German
Cite this entry

“Richtig.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/de/richtig. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·