gütige

Gütige is a German adjective meaning benevolent, kind, or good-natured in a moral sense. It is closely related to Güte, the noun for goodness, and shares its roots with other Germanic terms for positive character. In modern usage, gütig is the base form, while gütige is the feminine singular inflected form used before feminine nouns or in certain case contexts (for example, die gütige Königin or eine gütige Frau).

Etymology and usage context

The word derives from Old High German guot, meaning good, with the adjectival suffix -ig. Over time, gütig developed a sense of moral benevolence or mercy, extending beyond mere adequacy or pleasantness. In contemporary German, gütig is more common in formal, literary, or religious contexts; everyday speech more often favors synonyms like freundlich or nett for a similar nuance. The adjective also participates in standard German inflection: ich bin gütig, er ist gütig, sie ist gütig; comparative forms are gütiger and am gütigsten.

Grammatical notes

Gütige declines like other strong adjectives when used without a definite article, and with a definite article or adjective endings when the gender and case require it. For masculine nouns, forms include der gütige Mann; for feminine nouns, die gütige Frau; neuter forms would be das gütige Kind. The term can appear in compound or attributive positions, and in fixed phrases such as der gütige Gott or die gütige Mutter in literary or ceremonial language.

See also

Güte (goodness), gütig (base form), benevolent and virtuous in religious or historical texts.