Which to use
“mme” and “mum” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,851
- “mme” frequency rank
- #11,295
- “mum” frequency rank
- 58146
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mme | mum |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mutter | Ester aus Fettsäuren und langkettigen Alkoholen; Wachs |
Where the eye mixes mme and mum
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: mme vs mum
A purely visual mix-up. mme ([m̩mɛ]) and mum ([mum]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58146, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mme is recorded at frequency rank #46,851, classified as anoun, pronounced [m̩mɛ]. 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 58146, this pair ranks #873,952 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mme vs mum
Shared letters: m. Private to "mme": e. Private to "mum": u.
"mme" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "mum" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mme" for "mum" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "mme" or "mum" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mme" 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 #873,952 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mme" and "mum" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Memel vs mme". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #873,952 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.