official
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official
Confirmed or authorized by an authority, a government, or another official body; formal/authorized.
Die offizielle Bestätigung des Ergebnisses steht noch aus.
The official confirmation of the result is still pending.
'Offiziell' (official) can stand before a noun as an adjective and is then declined. It can also be used as an adverb to describe a verb, and then it remains unchanged.
Das ist die offizielle Webseite des Museums.
This is the museum's official website.
The word comes from the Latin 'officium' (office, duty/service). The opposite is formed simply with the prefix 'in-': 'inoffiziell' means informal or not official.
Die beiden Politiker trafen sich zu einem inoffiziellen Gespräch.
The two politicians met for an unofficial conversation.
In the meaning 'amtlich' (official/authorized), 'offiziell' (official) is often combined with nouns that describe information or documents. Typical examples are 'offizielle Bestätigung' (official confirmation), 'offizielle Zahlen' (official figures), or 'offizielle Mitteilung' (official announcement).
Die offizielle Mitteilung wird erst morgen veröffentlicht.
The official announcement will not be published until tomorrow.
When 'offiziell' (official/formal) describes an atmosphere or the way people interact, it means 'förmlich' (formal) or 'distanziert' (distant). It then describes a lack of personal warmth.
Bitte sei bei dem Treffen nicht zu offiziell, wir kennen uns doch schon lange.
Please don't be too formal at the meeting; we've known each other for a long time.
public
'öffentlich' and 'offiziell' can easily be confused because both often appear in contexts involving authorities, news, or events. 'öffentlich' means that something is accessible to everyone or visible to others. 'offiziell' means that something has been confirmed by an authority, a company, or another responsible body. A piece of information can be public without being official, for example a rumor on the internet. Conversely, an official letter may initially be sent to only a few people.
Die Stadt gibt heute eine offizielle Warnung wegen des Sturms heraus.
The city is issuing an official warning today because of the storm.
Die Ergebnisse stehen ab morgen öffentlich auf der Webseite der Schule.
The results will be publicly available on the school's website starting tomorrow.