MetervsmotherWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#753
“Meter” frequency rank
#22,070
“mother” frequency rank
22823
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Meter mother
Definition SI-Basiseinheit für die Länge; eine Strecke, die das Licht im Vakuum in 1/299.792.458 Sekunden zurücklegt weiblicher Elternteil; Mutter

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Meter and mother apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Meter
6 ch
mother

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Meter ([ˈmeːtɐ]) and mother ([ˈmʌðə]) 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 22823, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Meter is recorded at frequency rank #753, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmeːtɐ]. mother is at rank #22,070, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmʌðə].

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 22823, this pair ranks #1,869,298 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Meter vs mother

Shared letters: emrt. Private to "Meter": -. Private to "mother": ho.

"Meter" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "mother" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Meteremter · meetr · meterr · metre · metter · mmeter · mteer
  • mothermmother · mohter · motehr · motherr · mothher · mothre · motther · mtoher

Frequency comparison

Meter#753
mother#22,070

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Meter" and "mother" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmeːtɐ] versus [ˈmʌðə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Meter" or "mother"?
"Meter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #753 in our German list, against #22,070 for "mother". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Meter vs mother

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 “Meter” 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