offensichtlichenvsoffensichtlicherConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#23,256
“offensichtlichen” frequency rank
#46,889
“offensichtlicher” frequency rank
70145
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature offensichtlichen offensichtlicher
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs offensichtlich Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs offensichtlich

Where the eye mixes offensichtlichen and offensichtlicher

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 15 letters in sequence. offensichtlichen and offensichtlicher follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVCCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

16 ch
offensichtlichen
16 ch
offensichtlicher

Why the eye confuses offensichtlichen with offensichtlicher

A purely visual mix-up. offensichtlichen ([ˈɔfn̩ˌzɪçtlɪçn̩]) and offensichtlicher ([ˈɔfn̩ˌzɪçtlɪçɐ]) 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 “offensichtlichen” becomes r in “offensichtlicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70145, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

offensichtlichen is recorded at frequency rank #23,256, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɔfn̩ˌzɪçtlɪçn̩]. offensichtlicher is at rank #46,889, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɔfn̩ˌzɪçtlɪçɐ].

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 70145, this pair ranks #455,143 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of offensichtlichen vs offensichtlicher

Shared letters: cefhilnost. Private to "offensichtlichen": -. Private to "offensichtlicher": r.

"offensichtlichen" · 16 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCCVCCVC  ·  "offensichtlicher" · 16 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • offensichtlichen ← fofensichtlichen · ofefnsichtlichen · ofensichtlichen · offenischtlichen · offennsichtlichen · offenscihtlichen · offensicchtlichen · offensichhtlichen
  • offensichtlicher ← fofensichtlicher · ofefnsichtlicher · ofensichtlicher · offenischtlicher · offennsichtlicher · offenscihtlicher · offensicchtlicher · offensichhtlicher

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "offensichtlichen" and "offensichtlicher" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɔfn̩ˌzɪçtlɪçn̩] versus [ˈɔfn̩ˌzɪçtlɪçɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "offensichtlichen" or "offensichtlicher"?
"offensichtlichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,256 in our German list, against #46,889 for "offensichtlicher". 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 "offensichtlichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "offensichtlicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #455,143 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "offensichtlichen" and "offensichtlicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "offensichtliche 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 #455,143 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