MitarbeitervsMitarbeitersWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#735
“Mitarbeiter” frequency rank
#24,832
“Mitarbeiters” frequency rank
25567
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Mitarbeiter Mitarbeiters
Definition jemand, der zusammen mit anderen im gleichen Betrieb oder in der gleichen Institution arbeitet Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Mitarbeiter

Where the eye mixes Mitarbeiter and Mitarbeiters

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. Mitarbeiter runs 11 letters (CVCVCCVVCVC) against Mitarbeiters's 12 (CVCVCCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
Mitarbeiter
12 ch
Mitarbeiters

Visual trap between Mitarbeiter and Mitarbeiters

A purely visual mix-up. Mitarbeiter ([ˈmɪtʔaʁˌbaɪ̯tɐ]) and Mitarbeiters ([ˈmɪtʔaʁˌbaɪ̯tɐs]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Mitarbeiter” sits inside “Mitarbeiters”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25567, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Mitarbeiter is recorded at frequency rank #735, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɪtʔaʁˌbaɪ̯tɐ]. Mitarbeiters is at rank #24,832, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɪtʔaʁˌbaɪ̯tɐs].

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 25567, this pair ranks #1,831,313 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Mitarbeiter vs Mitarbeiters

Shared letters: abeimrt. Private to "Mitarbeiter": -. Private to "Mitarbeiters": s.

"Mitarbeiter" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVVCVC  ·  "Mitarbeiters" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Mitarbeiter ← imtarbeiter · miatrbeiter · mitabreiter · mitarbbeiter · mitarbeietr · mitarbeiterr · mitarbeitre · mitarbeitter
  • Mitarbeiters ← imtarbeiters · miatrbeiters · mitabreiters · mitarbbeiters · mitarbeietrs · mitarbeiterrs · mitarbeiterss · mitarbeitesr

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Mitarbeiter" for "Mitarbeiters" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɪtʔaʁˌbaɪ̯tɐ] versus [ˈmɪtʔaʁˌbaɪ̯tɐs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Mitarbeiter" or "Mitarbeiters"?
"Mitarbeiter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #735 in our German list, against #24,832 for "Mitarbeiters". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Mitarbeiter" and "Mitarbeiters" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Mitarbeiter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Mitarbeiters" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,831,313 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Mitarbeiter" and "Mitarbeiters" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mitarbeiten vs Mitarbeiters". 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 #1,831,313 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