MaskenvsMasterTell them apart

Which to use

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

#11,287
“Masken” frequency rank
#3,602
“Master” frequency rank
14889
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Masken Master
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Maske mittlerer akademischer Grad

Where the eye mixes Masken and Master

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Masken
6 ch
Master

Why the eye confuses Masken with Master

A purely visual mix-up. Masken ([ˈmaskn̩]) and Master ([ˈmaːstɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14889, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Masken is recorded at frequency rank #11,287, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaskn̩]. Master is at rank #3,602, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaːstɐ].

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 14889, this pair ranks #1,947,979 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Masken vs Master

Shared letters: aems. Private to "Masken": kn. Private to "Master": rt.

"Masken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Master" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Maskenamsken · maksen · masekn · maskenn · maskken · maskne · massken · mmasken
  • Masteramster · masetr · masster · masterr · mastre · mastter · matser · mmaster

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Masken" and "Master" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmaskn̩] versus [ˈmaːstɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Masken" or "Master"?
"Master" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,602 in our German list, against #11,287 for "Masken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Masken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Master" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,947,979 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Masken" and "Master" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mailen vs Masken". 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 #1,947,979 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