Which to use
“offene” is an adjective and “öffnete” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,672
- “offene” frequency rank
- #8,668
- “öffnete” frequency rank
- 11340
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | offene | öffnete |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs offen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs öffnen |
Where the eye mixes offene and öffnete
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses offene with öffnete
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: offene is [ˈɔfənə] while öffnete is [ˈœfnətə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11340, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
offene is recorded at frequency rank #2,672, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɔfənə]. öffnete is at rank #8,668, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈœfnətə].
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 11340, this pair ranks #1,970,402 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of offene vs öffnete
Shared letters: efn. Private to "offene": o. Private to "öffnete": tö.
"offene" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "öffnete" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- offene ← fofene · ofefne · ofene · offeen · offnee
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "offene" for "öffnete" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "offene" or "öffnete" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "offene" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "öffnete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,970,402 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "offene" and "öffnete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "offerte vs öffnete". 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 #1,970,402 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.