mittvsMittagWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mitt is a unknown, Mittag is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mitt” is an unknown and “Mittag” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#34,812
“mitt” frequency rank
#4,059
“Mittag” frequency rank
38871
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mitt Mittag
Definition Nominativ Singular Neutrum des Possessivpronomens minn Tageszeit um den Sonnenhöchststand (in der Regel ab circa 12.00 bis 14.00 Uhr), Mitte des Tages, Mitte der Zeit mit Tageslicht; dem Mittag geht der Vormittag voran und ihm folgt der Nachmittag

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
mitt
6 ch
Mittag

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mitt is [mɪhtʰ] while Mittag is [ˈmɪtaːk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “mitt” sits inside “Mittag”, and the parts of speech differ too (unknown vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38871, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mitt is recorded at frequency rank #34,812, classified as anunknown, pronounced [mɪhtʰ]. Mittag is at rank #4,059, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɪtaːk].

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 38871, this pair ranks #1,552,414 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mitt vs Mittag

Shared letters: imt. Private to "mitt": -. Private to "Mittag": ag.

"mitt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Mittag" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mittimtt · mmitt · mtit
  • Mittagimttag · mitag · mitatg · mittagg · mittga · mmittag · mtitag

Frequency comparison

mitt#34,812
Mittag#4,059

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mitt" and "Mittag" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mitt" is an unknown and "Mittag" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mitt" or "Mittag"?
"Mittag" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,059 in our German list, against #34,812 for "mitt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mitt vs Mittag

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an unknown, it's “mitt”; for a noun, it's “Mittag”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mitt” 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