mittelsvsmittenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,255
“mittels” frequency rank
#1,817
“mitten” frequency rank
4072
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mittels mitten
Definition mit dem … [im Genitiv folgenden Gegenstand] als Mittel in der Mitte, in die Mitte

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mittels and mitten apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
mittels
6 ch
mitten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mittels is [ˈmɪtl̩s] while mitten is [ˈmɪtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4072, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mittels is recorded at frequency rank #2,255, classified as aprep, pronounced [ˈmɪtl̩s]. 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 4072, this pair ranks #1,998,653 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mittels vs mitten

Shared letters: eimt. Private to "mittels": ls. Private to "mitten": n.

"mittels" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "mitten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mittelsimttels · mitels · mitetls · mittells · mittelss · mittesl · mittles · mmittels
  • mittenimtten · miten · mitetn · mittenn · mittne · mmitten · mtiten

Frequency comparison

mittels#2,255
mitten#1,817

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mittels" and "mitten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mittels" is a preposition and "mitten" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mittels" or "mitten"?
"mitten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,817 in our German list, against #2,255 for "mittels". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mittels vs mitten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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