offenenvsoffenerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“offenen” and “offener” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,213
“offenen” frequency rank
#5,289
“offener” frequency rank
7502
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature offenen offener
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs offen Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs offen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set offenen and offener apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
offenen
7 ch
offener

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. offenen ([ˈɔfənən]) and offener ([ˈɔfənɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - n in “offenen” becomes r in “offener”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7502, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

offenen is recorded at frequency rank #2,213, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɔfənən]. offener is at rank #5,289, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɔfənɐ].

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 7502, this pair ranks #1,987,916 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of offenen vs offener

Shared letters: efno. Private to "offenen": -. Private to "offener": r.

"offenen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "offener" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • offenenfofenen · ofefnen · ofenen · offeenn · offenenn · offenne · offennen · offneen
  • offenerfofener · ofefner · ofener · offeenr · offenerr · offenner · offenre · offneer

Frequency comparison

offenen#2,213
offener#5,289

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "offenen" and "offener" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɔfənən] versus [ˈɔfənɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "offenen" or "offener"?
"offenen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,213 in our German list, against #5,289 for "offener". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering offenen vs offener

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “offenen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list