Which to use
“mattes” is an adjective and “Mutes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,895
- “mattes” frequency rank
- #46,166
- “Mutes” frequency rank
- 85061
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mattes | Mutes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs matt | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Mut |
Where the eye mixes mattes and Mutes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. mattes runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Mutes's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between mattes and Mutes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mattes is [ˈmatəs] while Mutes is [ˈmuːtəs]. 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 85061, 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]. Mutes is at rank #46,166, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmuːtəs].
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 85061, this pair ranks #114,059 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mattes vs Mutes
Shared letters: emst. Private to "mattes": a. Private to "Mutes": u.
"mattes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Mutes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mattes" and "Mutes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "mattes" or "Mutes" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mattes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Mutes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #114,059 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mattes" and "Mutes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "museo vs Mutes". 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 #114,059 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.