merktvsmortConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#2,912
“merkt” frequency rank
#38,299
“mort” frequency rank
41211
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature merkt mort
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs merken der Tod

Where the eye mixes merkt and mort

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
merkt
4 ch
mort

Why the eye confuses merkt with mort

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: merkt is [mɛʁkt] while mort is [mɔʁ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41211, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

merkt is recorded at frequency rank #2,912, classified as averb, pronounced [mɛʁkt]. mort is at rank #38,299, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mɔʁ].

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 41211, this pair ranks #1,486,139 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of merkt vs mort

Shared letters: mrt. Private to "merkt": ek. Private to "mort": o.

"merkt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "mort" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • merktemrkt · mekrt · merkkt · merktt · merrkt · mertk · mmerkt · mrekt
  • mortmmort · morrt · mortt · motr · mrot · omrt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "merkt" and "mort" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "merkt" is a verb and "mort" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "merkt" vs "mort" - which ranks higher?
"merkt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,912 in our German list, against #38,299 for "mort". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "merkt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mort" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,486,139 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "merkt" and "mort" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mora vs mort". 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 #1,486,139 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list