Which to use
“öffentliches” and “ordentliches” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,842
- “öffentliches” frequency rank
- #14,645
- “ordentliches” frequency rank
- 24487
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | öffentliches | ordentliches |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs öffentlich | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs ordentlich |
Where the eye mixes öffentliches and ordentliches
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. öffentliches and ordentliches follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses öffentliches with ordentliches
A purely visual mix-up. öffentliches ([ˈœfn̩tlɪçəs]) and ordentliches ([ˈɔʁdn̩tlɪçəs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24487, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
öffentliches is recorded at frequency rank #9,842, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈœfn̩tlɪçəs]. ordentliches is at rank #14,645, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɔʁdn̩tlɪçəs].
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 24487, this pair ranks #1,846,907 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of öffentliches vs ordentliches
Shared letters: cehilnst. Private to "öffentliches": fö. Private to "ordentliches": dor.
"öffentliches" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCVC · "ordentliches" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ordentliches ← odrentliches · orddentliches · ordenltiches · ordenntliches · ordentilches · ordentlcihes · ordentlicches · ordentlicehs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "öffentliches" for "ordentliches" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "öffentliches" or "ordentliches" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "öffentliches" and "ordentliches" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "öffentliches" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ordentliches" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,846,907 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "öffentliches" and "ordentliches" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "öffentlichem vs öffentliches". 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 #1,846,907 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.