mattes vs mittels, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“mattes” is an adjective and “mittels” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,895
“mattes” frequency rank: #2,255
“mittels” frequency rank: 41150
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	mattes	mittels
Definition	Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs matt	mit dem … [im Genitiv folgenden Gegenstand] als Mittel

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mattes and mittels apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

mattes

7 ch

mittels

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mattes is [ˈmatəs] while mittels is [ˈmɪtl̩s]. 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 preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41150, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mattes is recorded at frequency rank #38,895, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈmatəs]. mittels is at rank #2,255, tagged as aprep, pronounced [ˈmɪtl̩s].

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 41150, this pair ranks #1,487,860 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mattes vs mittels

Shared letters: emst. Private to "mattes": a. Private to "mittels": il.

"mattes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "mittels" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

mattes ← matets · mattess · mattse · mmattes · mtates
mittels ← imttels · mitels · mitetls · mittells · mittelss · mittesl · mittles · mmittels

Frequency comparison

mattes#38,895

mittels#2,255

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mattes" and "mittels" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mattes" is an adjective and "mittels" a preposition, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "mattes" or "mittels"?

"mittels" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,255 in our German list, against #38,895 for "mattes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering mattes vs mittels

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “mattes”; for a preposition, it's “mittels”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mattes” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable