meinvsmisWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mein is a pronoun, mis is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mein” is a pronoun and “mis” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#117
“mein” frequency rank
#37,676
“mis” frequency rank
37793
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mein mis
Definition zeigt den Besitz, das Eigentum oder die Zugehörigkeit einer Person bzw. Sache zu sich selbst an rotes, leicht formbares Metall, das sich gut als Stromleiter eignet; Kupfer

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
mein
3 ch
mis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

mein and mis form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37793, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mein is recorded at frequency rank #117, classified as apron, pronounced [maɪ̯n]. mis is at rank #37,676, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mis].

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 37793, this pair ranks #1,580,913 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

mein#117
mis#37,676

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mein" and "mis" be used interchangeably?
No, "mein" and "mis" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering mein vs mis

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “mein”; for a noun, it's “mis”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mein” 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