öffnenvsöffnetWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“öffnen” and “öffnet” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,007
“öffnen” frequency rank
#3,631
“öffnet” frequency rank
5638
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature öffnen öffnet
Definition etwas aufmachen; offen machen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs öffnen

Where the eye mixes öffnen and öffnet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
öffnen
6 ch
öffnet

Look-alike desk: öffnen vs öffnet

A purely visual mix-up. öffnen ([ˈœfnən]) and öffnet ([ˈœfnət]) 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 - n in “öffnen” becomes t in “öffnet”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5638, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

öffnen is recorded at frequency rank #2,007, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈœfnən]. öffnet is at rank #3,631, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈœfnət].

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 5638, this pair ranks #1,994,161 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of öffnen vs öffnet

Shared letters: efnö. Private to "öffnen": -. Private to "öffnet": t.

"öffnen" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC  ·  "öffnet" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "öffnen" and "öffnet" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈœfnən] versus [ˈœfnət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "öffnen" or "öffnet"?
"öffnen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,007 in our German list, against #3,631 for "öffnet". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "öffnen" and "öffnet" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "öffnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "öffnet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,994,161 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "öffnen" and "öffnet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "öffnet vs öffneten". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,994,161 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list