MäusevsmusWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Mäuse is a noun, mus is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Mäuse” is a noun and “mus” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,350
“Mäuse” frequency rank
#22,072
“mus” frequency rank
34422
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Mäuse mus
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Maus 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs musen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Mäuse and mus apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Mäuse
3 ch
mus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Mäuse is [ˈmɔɪ̯zə] while mus is [muːs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34422, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Mäuse is recorded at frequency rank #12,350, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɔɪ̯zə]. mus is at rank #22,072, tagged as averb, pronounced [muːs].

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 34422, this pair ranks #1,663,695 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Mäuse vs mus

Shared letters: msu. Private to "Mäuse": . Private to "mus": -.

"Mäuse" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "mus" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

Mäuse#12,350
mus#22,072

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Mäuse" and "mus" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Mäuse" is a noun and "mus" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Mäuse" or "mus"?
"Mäuse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,350 in our German list, against #22,072 for "mus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Mäuse vs mus

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list