Which to use
“Maus” and “mum” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,634
- “Maus” frequency rank
- #11,295
- “mum” frequency rank
- 15929
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Maus | mum |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | kleines graues oder braunes Säugetier mit überwiegend langem Schwanz, rattenähnlich, in der Zuchtform auch weiß oder schwarz | Ester aus Fettsäuren und langkettigen Alkoholen; Wachs |
Where the eye mixes Maus and mum
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Maus vs mum
A purely visual mix-up. Maus ([maʊ̯s]) and mum ([mum]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15929, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Maus is recorded at frequency rank #4,634, classified as anoun, pronounced [maʊ̯s]. mum is at rank #11,295, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mum].
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 15929, this pair ranks #1,940,009 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Maus vs mum
Shared letters: mu. Private to "Maus": as. Private to "mum": -.
"Maus" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "mum" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Maus ← amus · masu · mauss · mmaus · muas
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Maus" for "mum" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Maus" or "mum"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Maus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mum" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,940,009 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Maus" and "mum" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mum vs münz". 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 #1,940,009 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.