openvsoptConfusable pair

Quick tell: open is a adjective, opt is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“open” is an adjective and “opt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,607
“open” frequency rank
#18,009
“opt” frequency rank
20616
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature open opt
Definition etwas ist nicht geschlossen (to opt for something) sich für etwas entscheiden (optieren)

Letter map: open vs opt

Shared letters muted; letters that set open and opt apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
open
3 ch
opt

Grammar separator: open vs opt

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: open is anadjective and optaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20616, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

open is recorded at frequency rank #2,607, classified as anadj, pronounced […]. opt is at rank #18,009, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 20616, this pair ranks #1,895,691 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of open vs opt

Shared letters: op. Private to "open": en. Private to "opt": t.

"open" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "opt" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • openoepn · openn · opne · oppen · poen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "open" and "opt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "open" is an adjective and "opt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "open" vs "opt" - which ranks higher?
"open" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,607 in our German list, against #18,009 for "opt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "open" and "opt".

  • Full dictionary entry for "open" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "opt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,895,691 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "open" and "opt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "opt vs puzzles". 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 #1,895,691 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