pflichtig

Pflichtig is a German adjective meaning obligated or liable, used to describe actions, payments, or statuses that are required by law, regulation, or formal duty. It indicates that something is not voluntary. In legal, administrative, and everyday language, a person or entity can be pflichtig for various obligations, such as taxes or social contributions.

Common compounds include steuerpflichtig (liable to pay taxes) and sozialversicherungspflichtig (subject to mandatory social insurance). The noun forms Steuerpflicht (tax liability) and Meldepflicht (duty to report) are related. For example: Der Steuerpflichtige muss eine Steuererklärung abgeben. Arbeitnehmer sind in der Regel sozialversicherungspflichtig.

Etymology: the adjective derives from the noun Pflicht (duty, obligation) with the suffix -ig. It has been used in German for centuries, particularly in legal and bureaucratic language, to mark obligations arising from statutes, contracts, or regulations.

Notes: "pflichtig" emphasizes the obligation arising from formal rules, while related terms like "verpflichtet" stress a personal commitment. In many contexts it is paired with nouns to form established terms such as steuerpflichtig or sozialversicherungspflichtig, which describe concrete legal duties.