MeternvsMietersWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,848
“Metern” frequency rank
#47,588
“Mieters” frequency rank
50436
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Metern Mieters
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Meter Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Mieter

Where the eye mixes Metern and Mieters

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Metern runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against Mieters's 7 (CVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Metern
7 ch
Mieters

Why the eye confuses Metern with Mieters

A purely visual mix-up. Metern ([ˈmeːtɐn]) and Mieters ([ˈmiːtɐs]) 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 50436, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Metern is recorded at frequency rank #2,848, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmeːtɐn]. Mieters is at rank #47,588, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmiːtɐs].

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 50436, this pair ranks #1,173,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Metern vs Mieters

Shared letters: emrt. Private to "Metern": n. Private to "Mieters": is.

"Metern" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "Mieters" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Meternemtern · meetrn · metenr · meternn · meterrn · metren · mettern · mmetern
  • Mietersimeters · meiters · mieetrs · mieterrs · mieterss · mietesr · mietres · mietters

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Metern" and "Mieters" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmeːtɐn] versus [ˈmiːtɐs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Metern" or "Mieters" show up more?
"Metern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,848 in our German list, against #47,588 for "Mieters". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Metern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Mieters" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,173,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Metern" and "Mieters" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mieters vs mietet". 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 #1,173,782 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