All German word comparisons · Back to the topic overview
Meaning, sentence patterns and examples
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| offen | open; unresolved; candid | Physical openings, questions and attitudes | Adjective; inflects before nouns; offen für + accusative. |
| geöffnet | opened; open after opening | Doors, containers and business hours | Participle of öffnen; inflects before nouns; sein/werden + geöffnet. |
offen
Meaning and usage: Offen describes an open state, but its meanings extend beyond objects that someone has opened. An unresolved question is offen; a person can be offen about their feelings or offen für an idea. It also describes visible or public situations. These figurative uses explain why replacing every offen with geöffnet fails even though the two overlap for doors and shops.
Grammar: Adjective: eine offene Tür, ein offenes Gespräch. Predicative form stays offen: die Tür ist offen. Offen für + accusative expresses receptiveness.
Das Fenster bleibt offen, bis der Raum kühler ist.
The window stays open until the room is cooler.
Die Frage nach dem Termin ist noch offen.
The question of the date is still unresolved.
geöffnet
Meaning and usage: Geöffnet comes from öffnen and can focus on an opening action or its resulting state. Das Geschäft ist geöffnet is ordinary for a business during its opening hours. However, the participle does not always insist on a freshly completed action: it can simply describe the current state. Its grammatical surroundings show whether you are describing an action, a state or an actively performed opening.
Grammar: Past participle of öffnen: hat geöffnet. Werden + geöffnet describes passive action; sein + geöffnet describes a state. Before a noun it inflects: eine geöffnete Flasche.
Die Praxis ist am Samstag nur vormittags geöffnet.
The practice is open only in the morning on Saturday.
Die Flasche wird erst beim Essen geöffnet.
The bottle is not opened until the meal.
Overlap and context
Die Tür ist offen and Die Tür ist geöffnet can describe the same situation. Offen directly names the state; geöffnet connects naturally with opening as an action or established state. Shops routinely use both. A person who is receptive is offen, while geöffnet normally requires a relevant opening sense.
Common mistakes
- Say eine offene Frage for an unresolved question. Eine geöffnete Frage would not express that ordinary meaning.
- Distinguish ist geöffnet from wird geöffnet: the first can describe being open; the second presents opening as a passive action.
- Do not claim geöffnet is always formal or that offen is incorrect for shop hours. Their physical and business uses overlap.
Memory aid: Offen has many open meanings. Geöffnet keeps a link to öffnen, even when it simply describes the present open state.
Try it
Choose the normal figurative phrase: Wir brauchen ein ___ Gespräch: offenes or geöffnetes?
Show the answer
offenes
Ein offenes Gespräch means a frank or candid conversation. It is not a conversation physically opened.