offensichtlichvsoffensichtlichenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#1,609
“offensichtlich” frequency rank
#23,256
“offensichtlichen” frequency rank
24865
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature offensichtlich offensichtlichen
Definition dem Anschein nach Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs offensichtlich

Where the eye mixes offensichtlich and offensichtlichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 14 letters in sequence. offensichtlich runs 14 letters (VCCVCCVCCCCVCC) against offensichtlichen's 16 (VCCVCCVCCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

14 ch
offensichtlich
16 ch
offensichtlichen

Why the eye confuses offensichtlich with offensichtlichen

A purely visual mix-up. offensichtlich ([ˈɔfn̩ˌzɪçtlɪç]) and offensichtlichen ([ˈɔfn̩ˌzɪçtlɪçn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “offensichtlich” sits inside “offensichtlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24865, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

offensichtlich is recorded at frequency rank #1,609, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɔfn̩ˌzɪçtlɪç]. offensichtlichen is at rank #23,256, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɔfn̩ˌzɪçtlɪçn̩].

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 24865, this pair ranks #1,841,529 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of offensichtlich vs offensichtlichen

Shared letters: cefhilnost. Private to "offensichtlich": -. Private to "offensichtlichen": -.

"offensichtlich" · 14 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCCVCC  ·  "offensichtlichen" · 16 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • offensichtlich ← fofensichtlich · ofefnsichtlich · ofensichtlich · offenischtlich · offennsichtlich · offenscihtlich · offensicchtlich · offensichhtlich
  • offensichtlichen ← fofensichtlichen · ofefnsichtlichen · ofensichtlichen · offenischtlichen · offennsichtlichen · offenscihtlichen · offensicchtlichen · offensichhtlichen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "offensichtlich" and "offensichtlichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɔfn̩ˌzɪçtlɪç] versus [ˈɔfn̩ˌzɪçtlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "offensichtlich" or "offensichtlichen"?
"offensichtlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,609 in our German list, against #23,256 for "offensichtlichen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "offensichtlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "offensichtlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,841,529 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "offensichtlich" and "offensichtlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "offensichtlichen vs offensichtlicher". 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 #1,841,529 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list