mobilvsmobilesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,453
“mobil” frequency rank
#20,345
“mobiles” frequency rank
26798
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mobil mobiles
Definition beweglich, an verschiedenen Orten einzusetzen Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs mobil

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
mobil
7 ch
mobiles

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mobil ([moˈbiːl]) and mobiles ([moˈbiːləs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “mobil” sits inside “mobiles”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26798, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mobil is recorded at frequency rank #6,453, classified as anadj, pronounced [moˈbiːl]. mobiles is at rank #20,345, tagged as anadj, pronounced [moˈbiːləs].

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 26798, this pair ranks #1,812,209 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mobil vs mobiles

Shared letters: bilmo. Private to "mobil": -. Private to "mobiles": es.

"mobil" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "mobiles" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mobilmboil · mmobil · mobbil · mobill · mobli · moibl · ombil
  • mobilesmboiles · mmobiles · mobbiles · mobiels · mobiless · mobilles · mobilse · moblies

Frequency comparison

mobil#6,453
mobiles#20,345

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mobil" and "mobiles" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([moˈbiːl] versus [moˈbiːləs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mobil" or "mobiles"?
"mobil" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,453 in our German list, against #20,345 for "mobiles". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mobil vs mobiles

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mobil” 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