MeervsmmeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Meer” and “mme” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,638
“Meer” frequency rank
#46,851
“mme” frequency rank
48489
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Meer mme
Definition großes, salziges Gewässer, die Gesamtheit des zusammenhängenden Gewässers, welches die Landmassen der Erde umgibt, ein bestimmter, geographisch abgegrenzter Teil dieses Gewässers Mutter

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Meer and mme apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Meer
3 ch
mme

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Meer ([meːɐ̯]) and mme ([m̩mɛ]) 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 48489, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Meer is recorded at frequency rank #1,638, classified as anoun, pronounced [meːɐ̯]. mme is at rank #46,851, tagged as anoun, pronounced [m̩mɛ].

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 48489, this pair ranks #1,246,732 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Meer vs mme

Shared letters: em. Private to "Meer": r. Private to "mme": -.

"Meer" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "mme" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Meeremer · meerr · mere · mmeer

Frequency comparison

Meer#1,638
mme#46,851

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Meer" and "mme" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([meːɐ̯] versus [m̩mɛ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Meer" or "mme"?
"Meer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,638 in our German list, against #46,851 for "mme". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Meer vs mme

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Meer” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list