Which to use
“Meier” is a noun and “meist” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,789
- “Meier” frequency rank
- #620
- “meist” frequency rank
- 8409
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Meier | meist |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Beamter eines adligen oder geistlichen Grundherrn, der die Verwaltung und Bewirtschaftung des Haupthofes (Meierhof) übernahm, später Pächter des größten Hofs | Superlativ zu viel |
Where the eye mixes Meier and meist
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Meier (CVVVC) and meist (CVVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses Meier with meist
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Meier is [ˈmaɪ̯ɐ] while meist is [maɪ̯st]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8409, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Meier is recorded at frequency rank #7,789, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaɪ̯ɐ]. meist is at rank #620, tagged as anadj, pronounced [maɪ̯st].
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 8409, this pair ranks #1,984,416 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Meier vs meist
Shared letters: eim. Private to "Meier": r. Private to "meist": st.
"Meier" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "meist" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Meier" and "meist" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Meier" or "meist"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Meier" and "meist" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Meier" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "meist" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,984,416 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Meier" and "meist" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Meier vs Memel". 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 #1,984,416 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.