MittagvsmittenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Mittag is a noun, mitten is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#4,059
“Mittag” frequency rank
#1,817
“mitten” frequency rank
5876
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Mittag mitten
Definition 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 in der Mitte, in die Mitte

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
Mittag
6 ch
mitten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Mittag is [ˈmɪtaːk] while mitten is [ˈmɪtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5876, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Mittag is recorded at frequency rank #4,059, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɪtaːk]. mitten is at rank #1,817, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈmɪtn̩].

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 5876, this pair ranks #1,993,428 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Mittag vs mitten

Shared letters: imt. Private to "Mittag": ag. Private to "mitten": en.

"Mittag" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "mitten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Mittagimttag · mitag · mitatg · mittagg · mittga · mmittag · mtitag
  • mittenimtten · miten · mitetn · mittenn · mittne · mmitten · mtiten

Frequency comparison

Mittag#4,059
mitten#1,817

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Mittag" and "mitten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Mittag" is a noun and "mitten" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Mittag" or "mitten"?
"mitten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,817 in our German list, against #4,059 for "Mittag". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Mittag vs mitten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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