Which to use
“öffentlich” and “öffentliche” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,649
- “öffentlich” frequency rank
- #1,687
- “öffentliche” frequency rank
- 3336
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | öffentlich | öffentliche |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | so, dass es jeder benutzen darf | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs öffentlich |
Where the eye mixes öffentlich and öffentliche
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. öffentlich runs 10 letters (VCCVCCCVCC) against öffentliche's 11 (VCCVCCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses öffentlich with öffentliche
A purely visual mix-up. öffentlich ([ˈœfn̩tlɪç]) and öffentliche ([ˈœfn̩tlɪçə]) 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) - “öffentlich” sits inside “öffentliche”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3336, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
öffentlich is recorded at frequency rank #1,649, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈœfn̩tlɪç]. öffentliche is at rank #1,687, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈœfn̩tlɪçə].
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 3336, this pair ranks #2,000,428 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of öffentlich vs öffentliche
Shared letters: cefhilntö. Private to "öffentlich": -. Private to "öffentliche": -.
"öffentlich" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCC · "öffentliche" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "öffentlich" and "öffentliche" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "öffentlich" vs "öffentliche" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "öffentlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "öffentliche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,000,428 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "öffentlich" and "öffentliche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "öffentliche vs öffentlichem". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #2,000,428 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.