Which to use
“öffentliche” and “öffentlichem” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,687
- “öffentliche” frequency rank
- #25,856
- “öffentlichem” frequency rank
- 27543
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | öffentliche | öffentlichem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs öffentlich | Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs öffentlich |
Where the eye mixes öffentliche and öffentlichem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. öffentliche runs 11 letters (VCCVCCCVCCV) against öffentlichem's 12 (VCCVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between öffentliche and öffentlichem
A purely visual mix-up. öffentliche ([ˈœfn̩tlɪçə]) and öffentlichem ([ˈœfn̩tlɪçm̩]) 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) - “öffentliche” sits inside “öffentlichem”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27543, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
öffentliche is recorded at frequency rank #1,687, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈœfn̩tlɪçə]. öffentlichem is at rank #25,856, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈœfn̩tlɪçm̩].
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 27543, this pair ranks #1,800,040 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of öffentliche vs öffentlichem
Shared letters: cefhilntö. Private to "öffentliche": -. Private to "öffentlichem": m.
"öffentliche" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCV · "öffentlichem" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "öffentliche" for "öffentlichem" ever safe?
Which is more common, "öffentliche" or "öffentlichem"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "öffentliche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "öffentlichem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,800,040 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "öffentliche" and "öffentlichem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "öffentlichem vs öffentliches". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,800,040 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.