Which to use
“öffentliche” and “öffentliches” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,687
- “öffentliche” frequency rank
- #9,842
- “öffentliches” frequency rank
- 11529
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | öffentliche | öffentliches |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs öffentlich | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs öffentlich |
Where the eye mixes öffentliche and öffentliches
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. öffentliche runs 11 letters (VCCVCCCVCCV) against öffentliches's 12 (VCCVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: öffentliche vs öffentliches
A purely visual mix-up. öffentliche ([ˈœfn̩tlɪçə]) and öffentliches ([ˈœfn̩tlɪçəs]) 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 “öffentliches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11529, 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]. öffentliches is at rank #9,842, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈœfn̩tlɪçəs].
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 11529, this pair ranks #1,969,412 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of öffentliche vs öffentliches
Shared letters: cefhilntö. Private to "öffentliche": -. Private to "öffentliches": s.
"öffentliche" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCV · "öffentliches" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "öffentliche" and "öffentliches" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "öffentliche" vs "öffentliches" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "öffentliche" and "öffentliches" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "öffentliche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "öffentliches" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,969,412 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "öffentliche" and "öffentliches" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "öffentlichem vs öffentliches". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,969,412 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.