MattenvsMatzeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#24,829
“Matten” frequency rank
#48,323
“Matze” frequency rank
73152
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Matten Matze
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Matta ungesäuertes Fladenbrot, welches während der Passahzeit gegessen wird

Where the eye mixes Matten and Matze

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

6 ch
Matten
5 ch
Matze

Look-alike desk: Matten vs Matze

A purely visual mix-up. Matten ([ˈmatn̩]) and Matze ([ˈmat͡sə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73152, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Matten is recorded at frequency rank #24,829, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmatn̩]. Matze is at rank #48,323, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmat͡sə].

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 73152, this pair ranks #368,338 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Matten vs Matze

Shared letters: aemt. Private to "Matten": n. Private to "Matze": z.

"Matten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Matze" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Mattenamtten · maten · matetn · mattenn · mattne · mmatten · mtaten
  • Matzeamtze · matez · mattze · matzze · mazte · mmatze · mtaze

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Matten" and "Matze" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmatn̩] versus [ˈmat͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Matten" or "Matze" show up more?
"Matten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,829 in our German list, against #48,323 for "Matze". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Matten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Matze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #368,338 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Matten" and "Matze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Matze vs Mette". 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 #368,338 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