mattvsmotWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: matt is a adjective, mot is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“matt” is an adjective and “mot” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,281
“matt” frequency rank
#42,693
“mot” frequency rank
47974
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature matt mot
Definition mit Anzeichen von Ermüdung oder Erschöpfung, mitnichten lebhaft oder rege Wort

Where the eye mixes matt and mot

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
matt
3 ch
mot

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: matt is [mat] while mot is [mo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47974, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

matt is recorded at frequency rank #5,281, classified as anadj, pronounced [mat]. mot is at rank #42,693, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mo].

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 47974, this pair ranks #1,265,326 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of matt vs mot

Shared letters: mt. Private to "matt": a. Private to "mot": o.

"matt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "mot" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mattamtt · mat · mmatt · mtat

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "matt" and "mot" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "matt" is an adjective and "mot" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "matt" or "mot"?
"matt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,281 in our German list, against #42,693 for "mot". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "matt" and "mot". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "matt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mot" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,265,326 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "matt" and "mot" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mora vs mot". 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

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list