offen

[ˈɔfn̩]

/[ˈɔfn̩]/ adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“offen” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #888) as an adjective. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#888
frequency rank, German
1,007
“O” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - nicht geschlossen, zum Beispiel als Zustandsbeschreibung einer Eingangsmöglichkeit

Corpus desk

Index DE-offen · offen · German

offen · rank #888 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #888
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,007
  • PHOTO-FINISH Monat

Nearest frequency peer: Monat (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “offen”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “offen” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

offen vs open
60% similar
offen vs Owen
40% similar
offen vs offs
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for offen
PropertyValue
Headwordoffen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈɔfn̩]
Letters5
Frequency rank#888
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “offen” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).offenliegt hier:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „Monat“ (#887), „Politiker“ (#889), „mittlerweile“ (#886). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for offen is neighbouring look-alikes ("open", "Owen", …), not just typos; it is anadjective pronounced [ˈɔfn̩]. Frequency #888 among 1,007 “O” headwords. 7 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for offen, with forms such as "fofen", "ofefn", and "offenn". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "open", "Owen", "offs", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is offen, spelled O-F-F-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    nicht geschlossen, zum Beispiel als Zustandsbeschreibung einer Eingangsmöglichkeit
  2. 2
    nicht versperrt, weil nichts im Wege ist, zum Beispiel weder ein körperliches Hindernis noch ein Verbot
  3. 3
    nicht verschlossen, nicht verpackt
  4. 4
    noch nicht entschieden
  5. 5
    ohne Zurückhaltung
  6. 6
    ohne nötige Vorsicht
  7. 7
    phonetisches (artikulatorisches) Merkmal der tiefen Vokale

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how offen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Durch ein offenes Fenster konnten die Diebe leicht in die Wohnung eindringen.
  2. „Offene Brandwunden sind ein idealer Nährboden für Bakterien und infizieren sich oft.“

Synonyms

geöffnetunverschlossenöffentlichzugänglichloseungewissfreimütigoffenherzigtief

Antonyms

geschlossenverriegeltverschlossenzugesperrtversperrtverpacktbeschlossenentschiedenreserviertzurückhaltenddefensivgeschlossenhoch

This word in other languages

open(English)abierto(Español)ouvert(Français)aberto(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fofen
  • ofefn
  • offenn
  • offne

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of offen - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

fofen2ofefn2offenn1offne2
Edit distance from "offen"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "offen"?
"offen" is spelled O-F-F-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈɔfn̩].
What does "offen" mean?
As an adjective, "offen" means: nicht geschlossen, zum Beispiel als Zustandsbeschreibung einer Eingangsmöglichkeit
What words are commonly confused with "offen"?
"offen" is commonly confused with "open", "Owen", "offs". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "offen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "offen" is [ˈɔfn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "offen" come from?
"offen" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "offen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Monat#887Markt#885Licht#884Regel#892

What to do next

You've looked up "offen". Here's where to go from here.

  • "offen" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "open". View pair
  • 4 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #888 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "O" letter cohort. O–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list