MattenvsMutterConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#24,829
“Matten” frequency rank
#470
“Mutter” frequency rank
25299
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Matten Mutter
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Matta weiblicher Elternteil, der seine Kinder aufzieht und versorgt; Frau, welche ein oder mehrere Kinder geboren hat

Where the eye mixes Matten and Mutter

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

6 ch
Matten
6 ch
Mutter

Look-alike desk: Matten vs Mutter

A purely visual mix-up. Matten ([ˈmatn̩]) and Mutter ([ˈmʊtɐ]) 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 25299, 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]. Mutter is at rank #470, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmʊtɐ].

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 25299, this pair ranks #1,835,340 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Matten vs Mutter

Shared letters: emt. Private to "Matten": an. Private to "Mutter": ru.

"Matten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Mutter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Mattenamtten · maten · matetn · mattenn · mattne · mmatten · mtaten
  • Muttermmutter · mtuter · muter · mutetr · mutterr · muttre · umtter

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Matten" for "Mutter" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmatn̩] versus [ˈmʊtɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Matten" vs "Mutter" - which ranks higher?
"Mutter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #470 in our German list, against #24,829 for "Matten". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Matten" and "Mutter" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Matten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Mutter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,835,340 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Matten" and "Mutter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mailen vs Matten". 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 #1,835,340 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