Which to use
“offen” is an adjective and “outen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #888
- “offen” frequency rank
- #35,369
- “outen” frequency rank
- 36257
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | offen | outen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht geschlossen, zum Beispiel als Zustandsbeschreibung einer Eingangsmöglichkeit | etwas bis dahin Verheimlichtes über sich bekennen, bekannt machen |
Where the eye mixes offen and outen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses offen with outen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: offen is [ˈɔfn̩] while outen is [ˈaʊ̯tn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36257, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
offen is recorded at frequency rank #888, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɔfn̩]. outen is at rank #35,369, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯tn̩].
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 36257, this pair ranks #1,620,129 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of offen vs outen
Shared letters: eno. Private to "offen": f. Private to "outen": tu.
"offen" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "outen" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "offen" and "outen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "offen" vs "outen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "offen" and "outen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "offen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "outen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,620,129 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "offen" and "outen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Oasen vs outen". 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 #1,620,129 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.