MettevsMotteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#47,587
“Mette” frequency rank
#32,677
“Motte” frequency rank
80264
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Mette Motte
Definition christliche Liturgie, die spätabends, nachts oder frühmorgens stattfindet Kleinschmetterling mit etwa 1 cm spannenden schmalen Flügeln, dessen Raupe unter anderem Wolle, Seide, Pelzwerk und Tapeten befällt

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
Mette
5 ch
Motte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Mette ([ˈmɛtə]) and Motte ([ˈmɔtə]) 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 a single letter - e in “Mette” becomes o in “Motte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80264, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Mette is recorded at frequency rank #47,587, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɛtə]. Motte is at rank #32,677, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɔtə].

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 80264, this pair ranks #199,204 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Mette vs Motte

Shared letters: emt. Private to "Mette": -. Private to "Motte": o.

"Mette" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Motte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Metteemtte · metet · mmette · mtete
  • Mottemmotte · mote · motet · mtote · omtte

Frequency comparison

Mette#47,587
Motte#32,677

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Mette" and "Motte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɛtə] versus [ˈmɔtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Mette" or "Motte"?
"Motte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,677 in our German list, against #47,587 for "Mette". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Mette vs Motte

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 “Mette” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list