mauvsMrWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mau is a adjective, Mr is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mau” is an adjective and “Mr” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,357
“mau” frequency rank
#3,332
“Mr” frequency rank
20689
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mau Mr
Definition sich nicht ganz wohl fühlend Anrede eines Mannes ohne Titel, gefolgt von seinem Namen

Where the eye mixes mau and Mr

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
mau
2 ch
Mr

Look-alike desk: mau vs Mr

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mau is [maʊ̯] while Mr is [mɪstə(r)]. 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 20689, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mau is recorded at frequency rank #17,357, classified as anadj, pronounced [maʊ̯]. Mr is at rank #3,332, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mɪstə(r)].

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 20689, this pair ranks #1,894,877 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mau vs Mr

Shared letters: m. Private to "mau": au. Private to "Mr": r.

"mau" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "Mr" · 2 letters · shape CC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "mau" for "Mr" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mau" is an adjective and "Mr" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "mau" vs "Mr" - which ranks higher?
"Mr" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,332 in our German list, against #17,357 for "mau". 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 "mau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Mr" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,894,877 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mau" and "Mr" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mals vs mau". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,894,877 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