Which to use
“öffentlicher” and “öffentliches” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,032
- “öffentlicher” frequency rank
- #9,842
- “öffentliches” frequency rank
- 15874
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | öffentlicher | öffentliches |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs öffentlich | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs öffentlich |
Where the eye mixes öffentlicher and öffentliches
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. öffentlicher and öffentliches follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between öffentlicher and öffentliches
A purely visual mix-up. öffentlicher ([ˈœfn̩tlɪçɐ]) 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 a single letter - r in “öffentlicher” becomes s in “öffentliches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15874, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
öffentlicher is recorded at frequency rank #6,032, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈœfn̩tlɪçɐ]. 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 15874, this pair ranks #1,940,431 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of öffentlicher vs öffentliches
Shared letters: cefhilntö. Private to "öffentlicher": r. Private to "öffentliches": s.
"öffentlicher" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCVC · "öffentliches" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "öffentlicher" and "öffentliches" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "öffentlicher" vs "öffentliches" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "öffentlicher" 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 #1,940,431 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "öffentlicher" and "öffentliches" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "öffentlichem vs öffentliches". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,940,431 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.