mittellosvsmittelsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mittellos is a adjective, mittels is a preposition, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

By · Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org ·

Which to use

“mittellos” is an adjective and “mittels” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,899
“mittellos” frequency rank
#2,255
“mittels” frequency rank
52154
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mittellos mittels
Definition ohne Vermögen, kein Geld besitzend mit dem … [im Genitiv folgenden Gegenstand] als Mittel

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mittellos and mittels apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
mittellos
7 ch
mittels

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mittellos is [ˈmɪtl̩ˌloːs] while mittels is [ˈmɪtl̩s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52154, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mittellos is recorded at frequency rank #49,899, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈmɪtl̩ˌloːs]. mittels is at rank #2,255, tagged as aprep, pronounced [ˈmɪtl̩s].

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 52154, this pair ranks #1,107,990 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mittellos vs mittels

Shared letters: eilmst. Private to "mittellos": o. Private to "mittels": -.

"mittellos" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "mittels" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mittellos ← imttellos · mitellos · mitetllos · mittelloss · mittellso · mittelols · mittelos · mittlelos
  • mittels ← imttels · mitels · mitetls · mittells · mittelss · mittesl · mittles · mmittels

Frequency comparison

mittellos#49,899
mittels#2,255

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mittellos" and "mittels" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mittellos" is an adjective and "mittels" a preposition, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mittellos" or "mittels"?
"mittels" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,255 in our German list, against #49,899 for "mittellos". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering mittellos vs mittels

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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