Which to use
“mer” is a noun and “mos” is a particle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,134
- “mer” frequency rank
- #39,532
- “mos” frequency rank
- 49666
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mer | mos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | das Meer, die See | verleiht einer Aufforderung, Aussage, Frage oder einem Wunsch eine gewisse Nachdrücklichkeit |
Where the eye mixes mer and mos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mer with mos
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mer is [mεːʀ] while mos is [mos]. 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 particle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49666, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mer is recorded at frequency rank #10,134, classified as anoun, pronounced [mεːʀ]. mos is at rank #39,532, tagged as aparticle, pronounced [mos].
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 49666, this pair ranks #1,202,815 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mer vs mos
Shared letters: m. Private to "mer": er. Private to "mos": os.
"mer" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "mos" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mer" and "mos" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "mer" vs "mos" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "mer" and "mos" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,202,815 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mer" and "mos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mora vs mos". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,202,815 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.