MetervsMutterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#753
“Meter” frequency rank
#470
“Mutter” frequency rank
1223
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Meter Mutter
Definition SI-Basiseinheit für die Länge; eine Strecke, die das Licht im Vakuum in 1/299.792.458 Sekunden zurücklegt weiblicher Elternteil, der seine Kinder aufzieht und versorgt; Frau, welche ein oder mehrere Kinder geboren hat

Where the eye mixes Meter and Mutter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Meter
6 ch
Mutter

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Meter ([ˈmeːtɐ]) and Mutter ([ˈmʊtɐ]) 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 1223, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Meter is recorded at frequency rank #753, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmeːtɐ]. Mutter is at rank #470, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmʊtɐ].

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 1223, this pair ranks #2,004,709 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Meter vs Mutter

Shared letters: emrt. Private to "Meter": -. Private to "Mutter": u.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Meteremter · meetr · meterr · metre · metter · mmeter · mteer
  • Muttermmutter · mtuter · muter · mutetr · mutterr · muttre · umtter

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Meter" and "Mutter" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmeːtɐ] versus [ˈmʊtɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Meter" or "Mutter"?
"Mutter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #470 in our German list, against #753 for "Meter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list