Which to use
“missen” and “mussten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,697
- “missen” frequency rank
- #1,138
- “mussten” frequency rank
- 22835
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | missen | mussten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas entbehren | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs müssen |
Where the eye mixes missen and mussten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. missen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against mussten's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: missen vs mussten
A purely visual mix-up. missen ([ˈmɪsn̩]) and mussten ([ˈmʊstn̩]) 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 22835, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
missen is recorded at frequency rank #21,697, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmɪsn̩]. mussten is at rank #1,138, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmʊstn̩].
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 22835, this pair ranks #1,869,140 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of missen vs mussten
Shared letters: emns. Private to "missen": i. Private to "mussten": tu.
"missen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "mussten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "missen" and "mussten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "missen" or "mussten" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "missen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mussten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,869,140 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "missen" and "mussten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Madsen vs missen". 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 #1,869,140 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.