Richtung

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word Richtung. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word Richtung, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say Richtung in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word Richtung you have here. The definition of the word Richtung will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofRichtung, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈʁɪçtʊŋ/,
  • Audio (Austria):(file)
  • Audio:(file)

Etymology 1

From Middle High German richtunge, from Old High German rihtunga, from Proto-West Germanic *rihtungu. By surface analysis, richten +‎ -ung.

Noun

Richtung f (genitive Richtung, plural Richtungen)

  1. direction
    Aus welcher Richtung? ― From which direction?
    In welche Richtung? ― (In) which direction?
    alle Richtungen ― all directions (on a road sign)
    (in) Richtung Norden ― towards the north, in a northern direction
  2. school of thought, branch, subfield (also used in a wider sense of "type" in certain compounds)
    die verschiedenen Richtungen des Islams ― the different branches of Islam
Declension
Declension of Richtung
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative eine die Richtung die Richtungen
genitive einer der Richtung der Richtungen
dative einer der Richtung den Richtungen
accusative eine die Richtung die Richtungen
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Ellipsis of "in Richtung" (“in (the) direction (of)”). The usage with the nominative is a result of the original phrase attaching the specific direction as an apposition, leaving it uninflected.

Preposition

Richtung (chiefly informal)

  1. towards, to (in the context of larger scale orientation; arrival at the location is not implied)
    Synonyms: in Richtung, nach, zu, gen
    auf dem Weg Richtung Ziel ― on the way to the finish line
    Wir sind Richtung Strand gegangen.
    We walked towards the beach.
    Wer Polarlichter sehen will, muss Richtung Norden schauen.
    If you want to see the northern lights, you have to look towards the north.
    Der Zug Richtung Berlin hatte Verspätung.
    The train heading to Berlin was late.
    • 2010 November 27, Frank Hollmann, “Im Reich der sportlichen Mitte”, in Tagesspiegel‎, archived from the original on 12 June 2025:
      Die Weltfinanzkrise hat manche Planung über den Haufen geworfen, Mexiko zog in letzter Minute die Bewerbung für die Jugendolympiade zurück. Auch deshalb gehe die Tendenz Richtung Asien, so Schormann.
      The global financial crisis has thrown a wrench into many a plan, Mexico has withdrawn its application for the Youth Olympic Games at the last minute. This is among the reasons for why the decision is leaning towards Asia, Schormann says.
Usage notes
  • The analysis as a preposition is not widely acknowledged, but is the most consistent with its behavior in this usage. It introduces a phrase specifying a noun or verb phrase with a mandatory noun argument, but it cannot itself be specified by determiners or adjectives.
  • It retains the capitalization of the original noun.
  • The noun object is always used without an article. Place names and compass directions are most common for this. Adjectives specifying the object are uncommon unless they are part of a proper noun.

Further reading

  • “Richtung” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • “Richtung” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
  • “Richtung” in Duden online

Hunsrik

Pronunciation

Noun

Richtung f (plural Richtunge)

  1. direction
    Geh weider in do die Richtung.
    (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Further reading

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia