offensichtlichevsoffensichtlichenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#20,019
“offensichtliche” frequency rank
#23,256
“offensichtlichen” frequency rank
43275
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature offensichtliche offensichtlichen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs offensichtlich Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs offensichtlich

Where the eye mixes offensichtliche and offensichtlichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 15 letters in sequence. offensichtliche runs 15 letters (VCCVCCVCCCCVCCV) against offensichtlichen's 16 (VCCVCCVCCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

15 ch
offensichtliche
16 ch
offensichtlichen

Why the eye confuses offensichtliche with offensichtlichen

A purely visual mix-up. offensichtliche ([ˈɔfn̩ˌzɪçtlɪçə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “offensichtliche” sits inside “offensichtlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43275, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

offensichtliche is recorded at frequency rank #20,019, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɔfn̩ˌzɪçtlɪçə]. 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 43275, this pair ranks #1,423,214 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of offensichtliche vs offensichtlichen

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

"offensichtliche" · 15 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCCVCCV  ·  "offensichtlichen" · 16 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • offensichtliche ← fofensichtliche · ofefnsichtliche · ofensichtliche · offenischtliche · offennsichtliche · offenscihtliche · offensicchtliche · offensichhtliche
  • offensichtlichen ← fofensichtlichen · ofefnsichtlichen · ofensichtlichen · offenischtlichen · offennsichtlichen · offenscihtlichen · offensicchtlichen · offensichhtlichen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "offensichtliche" for "offensichtlichen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɔfn̩ˌzɪçtlɪçə] versus [ˈɔfn̩ˌzɪçtlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "offensichtliche" or "offensichtlichen"?
"offensichtliche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,019 in our German list, against #23,256 for "offensichtlichen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "offensichtliche" 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 #1,423,214 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "offensichtliche" 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 #1,423,214 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