Which to use
“offenen” is an adjective and “öffneten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,213
- “offenen” frequency rank
- #25,857
- “öffneten” frequency rank
- 28070
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | offenen | öffneten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs offen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs öffnen |
Where the eye mixes offenen and öffneten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. offenen runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against öffneten's 8 (VCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses offenen with öffneten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: offenen is [ˈɔfənən] while öffneten is [ˈœfnətn̩]. 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 28070, 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]. öffneten is at rank #25,857, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈœfnətn̩].
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 28070, this pair ranks #1,791,068 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of offenen vs öffneten
Shared letters: efn. Private to "offenen": o. Private to "öffneten": tö.
"offenen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "öffneten" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- offenen ← fofenen · ofefnen · ofenen · offeenn · offenenn · offenne · offennen · offneen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "offenen" for "öffneten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "offenen" or "öffneten" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "offenen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "öffneten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,791,068 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "offenen" and "öffneten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "offenen vs Offense". 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 #1,791,068 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.