Which to use
“matter” and “mattes” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,623
- “matter” frequency rank
- #38,895
- “mattes” frequency rank
- 57518
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | matter | mattes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs matt | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs matt |
Where the eye mixes matter and mattes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. matter and mattes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: matter vs mattes
A purely visual mix-up. matter ([ˈmatɐ]) and mattes ([ˈmatəs]) 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 a single letter - r in “matter” becomes s in “mattes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57518, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
matter is recorded at frequency rank #18,623, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈmatɐ]. mattes is at rank #38,895, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈmatəs].
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 57518, this pair ranks #898,289 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of matter vs mattes
Shared letters: aemt. Private to "matter": r. Private to "mattes": s.
"matter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "mattes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "matter" and "mattes" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "matter" or "mattes"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "matter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mattes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #898,289 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "matter" and "mattes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mattes vs Matze". 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 #898,289 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.