optischvsoptischenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#8,605
“optisch” frequency rank
#12,984
“optischen” frequency rank
21589
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature optisch optischen
Definition die Optik betreffend Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs optisch

Where the eye mixes optisch and optischen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
optisch
9 ch
optischen

Why the eye confuses optisch with optischen

A purely visual mix-up. optisch ([ˈɔptɪʃ]) and optischen ([ˈɔptɪʃn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “optisch” sits inside “optischen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21589, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

optisch is recorded at frequency rank #8,605, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɔptɪʃ]. optischen is at rank #12,984, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɔptɪʃn̩].

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 21589, this pair ranks #1,884,461 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of optisch vs optischen

Shared letters: chiopst. Private to "optisch": -. Private to "optischen": en.

"optisch" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC  ·  "optischen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • optischopitsch · opptisch · opticsh · optiscch · optischh · optishc · optissch · optsich
  • optischenopitschen · opptischen · opticshen · optiscchen · optiscehn · optischenn · optischhen · optischne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "optisch" and "optischen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɔptɪʃ] versus [ˈɔptɪʃn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "optisch" or "optischen"?
"optisch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,605 in our German list, against #12,984 for "optischen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "optisch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "optischen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,884,461 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "optisch" and "optischen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "optischen vs optisches". 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 #1,884,461 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