mmavsmumWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#39,528
“mma” frequency rank
#11,295
“mum” frequency rank
50823
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mma mum
Definition Plural des Substantivs ɔba Ester aus Fettsäuren und langkettigen Alkoholen; Wachs

Letter map: mma vs mum

Shared letters muted; letters that set mma and mum apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

3 ch
mma
3 ch
mum

Pair insight - mma / mum

mma and mum are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50823, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mma is recorded at frequency rank #39,528, classified as anoun, pronounced […]. mum is at rank #11,295, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mum].

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 50823, this pair ranks #1,159,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mma vs mum

Shared letters: m. Private to "mma": a. Private to "mum": u.

"mma" · 3 letters · shape CCV  ·  "mum" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "mma" for "mum" ever safe?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "mma" vs "mum" - which ranks higher?
"mum" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,295 in our German list, against #39,528 for "mma". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "mma" and "mum".

  • Full dictionary entry for "mma" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mum" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,159,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mma" and "mum" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mma vs puzzles". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,159,073 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